What Are We Teaching Our Kids Psm Asks Over Kkk March In Uitm

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With Universiti Teknologi Mara coming under fire over a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) cosplay at its premises recently, a PSM leader pondered on what is being taught to Malaysian undergraduates.
“It’s not like Malaysians don’t know what racially charged activities are. In fact, much of such actions and speech have been normalised in this country.
“But after seeing an extremism-linked march in a place like UiTM, we should ask ourselves… what are we teaching our future generations?” PSM central committee member Arveent Kathirtchelvan asked in a statement today.
On April 15, UiTM defended the students’ march after a video of it went viral on social media.
The university claimed the march was part of an assignment aimed at raising awareness about global human rights issues and encouraging critical thinking.
“During the session, the students involved had chosen to present issues related to racial discrimination and hatred based on skin colour, which are among the violations of human rights that occur in certain countries.
“The costumes and visual elements were used to help increase their understanding and perceptiveness towards the topic, and to give an overall picture from global and historical perspectives.
“And the visual approach was a part of the pedagogy technique used to support high-impact presentation in the classroom, in line with the course’s objectives that promote analytic thinking and civic awareness among students," it said.
Expression of hate
On that note, Arveent questioned the rationale of the students dressing up as Klan members despite knowing their brutal past and the impact they caused on the innocent.
“If they were not aware, why were the students not educated about it? Are UiTM or other universities’ modules insufficient in educating them about such hate groups?
“Or have we, as a society, become comfortable in the expression of hate?” he asked.
Citing examples, Arveent pointed out how Malaysians generally discriminate against those with dark skin when it comes to renting rooms or houses.
“In fact, some of our political parties perpetuate divisive rhetoric to garner votes.
“Check the social media. Even ordinary citizens make inflammatory statements against another community,” he added.
Reform social institutions
Offering solutions, the PSM leader urged the government to reform social institutions to educate the masses on respecting diversity.
“Our educational, religious and mass media must play a role in this.
“The government should also enact tougher laws to ensure victims of racism and discrimination receive justice,” Arveent added.
However, he lamented that the Madani government, despite calling itself a champion of reforms, had yet to implement any measures to address the problem.
“Even the mainstream opposition doesn’t seem to be interested in building a harmonious Malaysia sensitive to our nation’s diversity.” - Mkini

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