28/05/2025

WEDNESDAY | MAY 28, 2025

3 ‘Stem decline of patriotism in youths’

o When citizens no longer feel connected to nation , country’s foundations become vulnerable to disruption, says academic

workloads, but rarely have we asked how education builds a strong, united nation.” Calling for a bold reset in the next national education blueprint, he proposed that patriotism, unity and self-worth be embedded not just in the curriculum but also in co curricular activities and policies. “We are starting a new education development plan. This is our opportunity. If we fail to strengthen these values now, in 10 years we may find ourselves with a generation that is technically skilled but emotionally detached from the nation. “Our children are growing up in silos – Chinese schools with one ethos, religious schools with another. If we don’t build a shared patriotic foundation, we risk becoming strangers in our own country.”

“International schools in Malaysia now have more local students than foreign ones. This extreme diversity in our education system is a major challenge to building a common national identity.” While acknowledging that vernacular schools are protected by law and institutions, Anuar argued that the challenge is not their existence but how the nation manages diversity to produce a generation that is patriotic. “We must ask ourselves how we can ensure that our children feel love and loyalty for the country when they grow up so separated by language, curriculum and school culture.” He criticised current educational priorities that focus primarily on exam results and individual success, sidelining national values like patriotism and unity. “For years, our education discourse has revolved around academic achievement and teacher

teachers, with a score of 8.10 on average, deemed “very satisfactory”. “We are told that our education equality index is very high. But these numbers are difficult to interpret without knowing how the data was collected, the methodology used, or whether it was independently verified. “A school with 99% Malay teachers will naturally report strong intra community ties but that’s not the same as national integration or equality across diverse groups.” He pointed out that this disparity between official data and ground reality is part of a deeper problem, where education policy does not reflect the socio-political and cultural fragmentation that exists. Anuar highlighted the increasing complexity of Malaysia’s schooling landscape encompassing national, vernacular, international, religious and private schools, which has led to what he terms “super diversity”.

Ű BY DEEPALAKSHMI MANICKAM newsdesk@thesundaily.com

today is worryingly low. “If people have lost their pride in the country and no longer see the nation as a vital part of their lives, we risk weakening our nation-building process,” said Anuar. He said when citizens no longer feel connected to the nation emotionally or ideologically, the foundations of the country become vulnerable to disruption, with apathy towards laws, the monarchy and national identity. Citing figures from the Education Ministry’s 2024 Education Development Plan, Anuar questioned the high equality index reported among students and

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia risks becoming a fragmented society if the national education system fails to urgently address the declining sense of patriotism and unity among its youth, warned Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) senior lecturer Dr Anuar Ahmad. Reflecting on a recent online forum on patriotism hosted by UKM’s Minda platform, Anuar said both panellists, former Mubarak president Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Rahman and historian Dr Sahul Hamid, agreed that patriotism in Malaysia

Anuar urged educators and the government to treat patriotism and national unity as urgent priorities, not as an afterthought. Advice to media organisations KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications Ministry has urged media organisations to better understand how younger generations, particularly Generation Z (Gen Z) consume news, and to adapt their content strategies accordingly to remain relevant in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape. Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said Gen Z engages with content differently, and therefore newsrooms must take these shifts seriously by studying current research and experimenting with formats that align more closely with the preferences of younger audiences. Speaking at Google’s “Project Sigma: Engaging Malaysian Gen Z for News” event yesterday, he said the initiative reflects an important demographic shift. Project Sigma, a joint initiative by Google and the Communications Ministry, aims to help Malaysian newsrooms explore artificial intelligence tools and new digital formats to match evolving media habits. “This project recognises the demographic shift and the emerging expectations of younger audiences and serves as a reminder to institutions, organisations and policymakers to evolve to stay relevant.” Fahmi said the idea for Project Sigma originated from internal discussions about how youth today access information – in different formats, at different times and through non traditional channels. “Youth today often use slang and visual memes as a form of expression. But we mustn’t dismiss it. It is their language, their culture. “This is why Project Sigma matters. It’s not just a communications study, it’s a call to action. As we celebrate this project, I want to reiterate the government’s unwavering commitment to supporting our nation’s news ecosystem.” He said that some of the study’s findings were particularly striking, for instance, the steep decline in engagement with traditional long form content. “A platform once drawing 100 million impressions now barely captures 50,000. Meanwhile, formats like short-form videos, especially on YouTube Shorts and TikTok, are rising.” Fahmi said Gen Z does not only consume news differently but also trust different sources. “They look to creators, peers and community driven content more than they do traditional institutions. This has real implications for how we shape public discourse.” – By Qirana Nabilla Mohd Rashidi

M’sia to offer free skills development courses to 5m Asean citizens Participants at the Asean Human Capital Development Investment Symposium held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre yesterday. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THESUN

Ű BY IKHWAN ZULKAFLEE newsdesk@thesundaily.com

Symposium Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre yesterday. Sim said Malaysia aims to build a meaningful partnership with other Asean countries to transform the region into the most skilled in the world. He added that the initiative aims to bridge talent gaps across member states and foster a more agile and competitive regional workforce. Sim said Malaysia would also host several other regional events – the Asean Training Market Conference in July, the Asean TVET Conference in August and the Asean Labour Ministerial Meeting Forum in October. held at the

Week from June 14 to 21. “The courses will be offered with the participation of top global training entities such as Microsoft, Udemy, AwanTech, Alibaba Cloud and many more, including our own Malaysian training providers. “This is what we are bringing to the table. For the first time, we will be expanding these high-quality training opportunities beyond our own borders to our friends all over Asean. “We aim to train throughout this one whole week to provide exposure to these high-quality skills training courses to at least five million people – citizens of Asean.” He was speaking at the Asean Human Capital Development Investment

KUALA LUMPUR: About five million Asean citizens are expected to benefit from the 65,000 free skills development courses offered by Malaysia, worth nearly RM2.5 billion, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong. He said this initiative, which aligns with the 2025 Asean Year of Skills, covers courses in areas such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation, green technology and leadership. He added that the courses would be offered in conjunction with National Training

Africa Day 2025 celebrations in Kuala Lumpur KUALA LUMPUR: The African Heads of Mission in Malaysia (Ahom) will commemorate Africa Day 2025 in Kuala Lumpur today, celebrating the continent’s rich cultural heritage and advancing partnerships with Malaysia in line with the African Union’s development agenda. This year’s celebration carries the theme “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”. Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity, now known as the African Union, on May 25, 1963, Bernama reported. “As the name depicts, this auspicious occasion is dedicated to celebrating the

continent’s rich cultural heritage, resilience and ongoing efforts towards peace, development and cooperation for Africans and people of African descent all over the world. “The day holds tremendous importance, not only for Africans, but also for people worldwide who recognise the invaluable contributions of Africa,” said Ahom.