A Reflection On The Chinese Education System In Malaysia

The main aim of this article is to analyze and reflect on the establishment and challenges of the Chinese education system in Malaysia. Besides the conflicts faced externally, the Chinese education Malaysia also experienced conflicts stemmed from internal divisions. However, confronted by the forceful imposition of educational language policy by the authorities in the beginning of the 1990s, external repression took the center stage while internal divisions were kept at peripheral. Hence, majority of the academic research in the field focus on the external campaign rather than the aspect of internal divisions within the movement, such as the standard of educational model, the controversies of medium of instruction, et cetera. After the 1990s, the educational language policy in Malaysia started to loosen up following drastic changes domestically and externally of Malaysia. It was during this period of liberalization of educational language policy by the authorities that a trend of increased private schools and international schools developed. Parents were having more options. With such scenario set in, the main challenge faced by the Chinese education was no longer the repression from the government, but the competition from the market, which led to the increased sharpening of the internal divisions within the Chinese education. This was not only impacting the internal unity, but also the choices of strategy adopted in external campaigns. How to make a fair assessment of the past and resolve internal divisions has since become a crucial issue in the development of Chinese education. In other words, new thinking and new discourses are required.Returning to the initial idea of the Chinese education, this article narrates the overview of the Chinese education in Malaysia as it should be in a macro manner and discusses the formation and challenges of the Chinese education system-the Chinese primary schools, the Independent Chinese Secondary Schools and the National-Type secondary schools. In analyzing the development process of the educational language policy in Malaysia, the article assesses the contestation between the authorities and the Chinese community and its outcomes in the context of Chinese schools being converted to National-Type schools in the period of post-war to 1962.With regard to the Chinese education in the post-1962 period, the article discusses in depth the problems and internal divisions faced by the Chinese primary schools and the Independent Chinese Secondary Schools. It also surveys and analyzes for the first time the characteristics of Chinese school in the National-Type secondary schools and the conundrum that they were in. Based on this holistic assessment and reflection, this research proposes two recommendations for the Chinese education in Malaysia. Firstly, enlarge the definition of Chinese education and make cultural preservation and promotion as well as the subject of Chinese language at the first-language standard as the sufficient and necessary conditions in order to facilitate the inclusion of the National-Type secondary schools. Secondly, establish a center for educational policy and research with the aims of keeping the Chinese education in Malaysia up with the times and localizing the research of Chinese education in order to stay stronger in Malaysia.