COMMENT The state in Peninsular Malaysia that came under heavy Tamil influence was Kedah.Before the advent of the Cholas about 1,000 years ago, Kedah was under the domain of the Srivijaya Dynasty for considerable period of time.
It is ironical, the state that derives its name from Tamil word Kedaram, has the least respect and recognition for the advancement of the Tamil language and Tamil schools.
For that matter, even the Tamil school that is located in the sprawling Bujang Valley, containing rich treasures of the Indian past, is in most deplorable state.
While Kedah might boast of a rich ancient Hindu/Indian past, both the federal government and the state governments have little to improve the lives of Indians, descendants of those who were brought from South India to work as indentured labourers.
After 58 years of political independence, Indians in Kedah, the vast majority of them being rural and urban workers, have been left out of the development mainstream. The most important identity marker of Tamils in Kedah seems to be Hindu temples, which more visible today than before as result of plantation land going for the development.
Other than temples, there is nothing Indians can look forward in a state where the former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, originated.
Like the other peninsula states, there is open discrimination of Indians in the public service: very few Indians actually gain employment in the government bureaucracy or the civil service. Indians are left out in the state-linked government companies, some gain employment as drivers and office boys.
While the earlier Pakatan government under the control of PAS hardly lifted a finger to assist Indians, the community is in a much worse shape under the present BN state government.
The only solace for Indians is that at least they can obtain employment in the fast developing Penang.
The state of Kedah has about 58 Tamil primary schools. Many of the schools were formerly on lands owned by plantations.
No step taken to resolve issues
Even though the schools directly come under the Ministry of Education, however, the land they are on belong to private landowners. To date, the Kedah state government, both under the BN and few years under Pakatan, did not really resolve the issue of this land ownership.
While private landowners, especially plantation companies, have gone ahead to develop resorts and golf courses, they are reluctant to provide land for Tamil schools.
The Kedah government has not taken any initiative to convert, acquire or purchase private lands for Tamil schools.
The conditions of Tamil schools can be described as pathetic. Some of the schools are located in buildings that were once quarters for estate supervisors or the estate office.
On May 23, 2015, I visited three Tamil schools in Kedah with some local leaders. These schools were: Sungei Batu Tamil school in Jerai, Sungei Punther school in Jerai and Ladang Harvard (Division 2) school in Bedong.
It is shocking to note that none of the schools that I visited can be described as safe and secure for the children.
The roof of the Sungei Batu school is so badly leaking that teachers find it difficult to conduct lessons during rainy season. The building that houses the school is a place that once used to house the clerical employers of a former plantation company.
Despite complaints to the relevant authorities by the headmaster and the school’s parent-teacher association, nothing has to be done to alleviate the acute problems faced by students and teachers.
The sprawling Bujang Valley has so much land, yet the state government finds it difficult to allocate a piece of land that is of reasonable size.
The Sungei Punther Tamil school is in a worst and unimaginable shape. I was shocked to see that such a dilapidated building could be used as a school.
Since this school is really quite in the interior, no serious effort has been taken to address some of the main problems. A few days ago, Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan (photo) visited the school, spent around half-an-hour and left the place without even having a serious dialogue with teachers and parents.When one parent asked Kamalanathan how she could send her child to this school given the unhealthy conditions, he rudely replied that it was her choice!
But for the parent, there was no choice but to send her child to this school, even though the conditions are hazardous and risky.
Repeated attempts by Guthrie to close down school
Repeated attempts by the Guthrie Plantation management to close the Ladang Harvard (Division 2) were resisted by parents, the parent-teacher association and the trustees.
Members of a political party applied considerable pressure on the school to be closed so that it could be merged with another school located in Division 3, but this was of no avail.
The school building is in a terrible state, with the wooden beams and furniture seriously affected by termite attacks. How long the school will last is difficult to say.
The Public Works Department has said that the school building is not safe and the children have to be moved out.
The conditions of the Tamil schools in Kedah are merely the question of degree. The Ministry of Education or the state government have shown no regard for the improvement of Tamil schools in the state. Politicians belonging to the BN have paid only lip service in terms of improving the Tamil schools.
If no major improvement is forthcoming for these schools, there is the dim prospect of these schools being permanently closed down.
Parents are concerned about sending their children to schools that are not safe and secure. You cannot sustain Tamil schools just on the basis of love for the mother tongue!
Kedah might have derived its name from the Tamil word Kedaram; Kedah might have been greatly and deeply impacted by Indian/Hindu and Tamil civilisations in the past.
However, these don’t really mean that Indians, Hinduism and the Tamil language might be on a positive trajectory.
Unless and until there is progressive political change, Kedah might go down in history as the first state to deal a heavy blow to the progress of the Tamil language and Tamil schools!
P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the assemblyperson for Perai.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/300511
No comments:
Post a Comment