[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 08 Aug 1999
Time: 00:30:49
Remote User: -
Gerakan veep rues students' survey
KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan vice-president Dr S. Vijayaratanam has described as disappointing a statement that more than 80% of Universiti Sains Malaysia students are against the policy of having different races as roommates.
He said students in the immediate post-independence era were not even conscious of racial or religious differences then.
"Why has separatism crept in over the last decade or so?" he asked.
Yesterday, USM Students Representative Council outgoing president Mohd Fairoz Mat Jusoh was reported to have said that many matriculation and first-year students from rural areas were not used to rooming with different races.
He had also said that the 80% figure was based on a survey by the council.
In a statement, Dr Vijayaratanam said a proper and authorised survey must be carried out to determine whether the statistics were indeed true.
"Then, the reasons for this attitude have to be determined and studied," he said.
He said the Government should devote considerable attention to this worrying trend.
"The idea of unbiased integration should be inculcated from primary school and drummed in during moral, civic and religious education classes," he said.
He said students should have the opportunities to see that no great catastrophe would befall those who share accommodation.
Dr Vijayaratanam also cited an example where medical students in India stayed in hostels where they interacted with people from different countries and faiths.