introducing such a syllabus has its pros and cons, said Isnawati Ibrahim. — Bernama photo
KUCHING (June 18): The word ‘neutral’ was mentioned the most in a poll on the proposal by Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah for the implementation of a school syllabus meant to guide youngsters to become responsible voters once they are automatically registered upon reaching age 18.
Local resident Isnawati Ibrahim believes that introducing such a syllabus has its pros and cons.
Isnawati Ibrahim
“We want to make sure that the next generation in Sarawak is well-educated about our politics and its background, and also they’re also able to invent and create new ways to further develop the country in the future.
“It is important for politics to be taught (at school), but it has to emphasise on (having) a neutral point of view as a way to ensure its authenticity when it comes to information distribution,” the 47-year-old housewife told The Borneo Post here.
Malcolm Jinusi Bagiu viewed the syllabus as being a ‘potentially good addition’ to what was being taught to students from Form 3 to Form 5.
Malcolm Jinusi Bagiu
“They should be educated enough to understand the political system of the country, with all its little details.
“With such syllabus being introduced in schools, it may provide enough awareness for the future generation to grasp and understand the country’s political situation, before and now,” said the 28-year-old WiFi technician.
Nonetheless, Malcolm said should the plan go through, he hoped that the syllabus would include a list of the fundamental laws in Malaysia in introducing the political system to the students.
For Jamil Awang, 60, it would be ‘a good change of scenery’, in that everyone from the previous generations got the chance to receive education about the political history of the nation and state.
Jamil Awang
“The future generation will be the showrunners in the future, and they will be the people who will carry on the country’s development.
“As far as the syllabus goes, as long as the content is neutral, it should be fine.”
Ismail Sabit, 67, is also open to the proposal.
Ismail Sabit
“In my opinion, this would allow the youths to learn more about the political landscape of the country before they are officially registered as eligible voters,” said the pensioner.
Still, like many other respondents, Ismail also recommended for the content of the syllabus to be neutral so as to ‘avoid any uncalled dissolution of harmony from happening’.
In his view, Muhammad Zahhar Shamsul Anuar said with Undi18 having been gazetted into the law in 2019, such a syllabus should be compulsory in that it would better educate the youths about their voting rights.
However, the 27-year-old fresh graduate said its implementation must be balanced out as for now, school students were already overwhelmed with multiple subjects.
Muhammad Zahhar Shamsul Anuar
“Perhaps, it could be arranged and conducted as a separate subject under the overall curriculum.
“In this regard, I also recommend schools to be equipped with proper facilities like lockers for the students to safely keep their books at school and to retrieve them whenever required.
“Seeing students carry heavy bags every single day is not pleasant,” he said.