16 October, 2010

ME AND MY RELIGION

In our world, have many religion. I'm is Malaysian and muslim. I'm live at Malaysia. Malaysia is a multiconfessional society, with slightly more than half of its people being Muslims. The internal conflicts the nation has faced have generally been precipitated by ethnicity rather than religion. The country is officially a Muslim state, and the Government actively promotes the spread of Islam in the country and its friendship with other Muslim countries. Nevertheless, other religions are tolerated and the individual's right to the freedom of worship is listed in the country's constitution. The government also gives grants to religious bodies of other religions for building projects and other programs. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, and the Government actively promotes the spread of Islam in the country and its friendship with other Muslim countries. The Census in 2000 show approximately 60.4 percent of the total population are Muslims in Malaysia. There are also substantial numbers of Indian Muslims and a few numbers of ethnic Chinese converts. As required by Malaysian law and defined in the Constitution of Malaysia, a Malay would surrender his ethnic status if he were not Muslim. However the reverse is not legally true one does not legally become a Bumiputra by converting to Islam. Islam is central to and dominant in Malay culture. A significant number of words in the Malay vocabulary can trace their origins to Arabic which is the chosen language of Islam. This is, however, not exclusive and words from other cultures such as Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Sanskrit, Tamil, English, and French can also be found in the Malay language. Islam is so ingrained in Malay life that Islamic rituals are practiced as Malay culture. Muslim and Malays are interchangeable in many daily contexts.Hari Raya Aidilfitri is an important festival celebrated by Malaysian Muslims. Muslim women generally wear the tudung (hijab or headscarf) over their heads. However, Malay women not wearing any headgear are not reprimanded or penalised. Prominent Malaysian female examples are Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, International Trade and Industry Minister and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohammad. However, with the influx of Arabic travellers, foreign Muslim women (Arabs) wearing hijab that leave only their eyes exposed are often spotted in public, not the least at the shopping malls. At certain Malaysian institutions such as the International Islamic University, wearing of the tudung is mandatory for Muslim student but for non-Muslim just wear one piece of cloth over the back of the head. The tudung, or the hijab, is a symbol of a Muslim woman. Nine of Malaysian states namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Johor and Negeri Sembilan most of them styled as Sultans. These Malay rulers still maintain authority over religious affairs in states. The states of Penang, Malacca, Sarawak and Sabah do not have any sultan, but the king (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) plays the role of head of Islam in each of those states as well as in each of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. Originally, the draft Constitution of Malaysia did not specify any official religion for the state. This move was supported by the rulers of the nine Malay states, who felt that it was sufficient that Islam was the official religion of their individual states and their country.As the religion embraced by the most populous ethnic class of Malaysia, Islam plays an important part in Malaysian politics. Islam is seen by the Malay as a subject which can not be challenged conventionally or constitutionally. So, as a Muslims, we must hold fast to our own religion and believe in our religion. We also must avoid being influenced by things that are not good and what is forbidden in Islam.

OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM

In today's world, education is not what it is supposed to be. Education is preparing a person to face everyday life. Education today doesn't prepare one for the normal problems faced by a person in life...although, I'm not saying that they don't prepare you for life in schools. So our education system has to change fully, and only teach what is necessary. Today's education system is challenging but needs some changes. Today's education produces only money making machines. We are imparting theoretical knowledge based education. We have to make the children more aware on socialness. Even the information being given is very much non uniform in all the states. The syllabus of all the states have to be made more uniform so that everyone gets equal opportunity in everything. I think that life without education is a waste. It is worthless, in today's world. Education in the country is consisting of pre-school, primary, secondary, tertiary and postgraduate. Beginning in 2003, the government initiated the use of English as a standard of teaching in the entire science and mathematic subjects. The Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia is responsible from pre-school up to secondary stage of education while, the Ministry of Higher Education is in-charge in tertiary education in 2004. In pre-school, the government has no prescribed curriculum except a proper training which requires and certification for professors and principals before they may manage a pre-school. Primary education comprises of 6 years of education. It starts at age 7 and finishes at the age of 12 years old. Students in national schools are mandatory to go through a standardized test called Primary School Evaluation or Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah before graduating from primary education. The students must take the examination for Malaysian Certificate of Education before graduating from secondary. Uniforms in public school are required for all students nationwide. The required uniforms for males are collared shirt with long or shorts pants and for female a collared shirt and knee-length skirt. Generally, the students are expected to black or white shoes and white socks whereas ties are included in particular dress codes. student in Malaysia can choose to study either locally run programmers, twinning academic programmers, vocational, technical or skills training. The country has 10 local public universities, 6 private, 1 international university and more than 500 Public Higher Educational Institutions. It is open to every individual in the country and offers postgraduate and undergraduate studies. Private educational institutions are obligatory to register with the Ministry of Education. Education in Malaysia is overseen by two government ministries, the Ministry of Education for matters up to the secondary level, and the Ministry of Higher Education for tertiary education. Although education is the responsibility of the federal government, each state has an Education Department to help coordinate educational matters in their respective states. The Malaysian education system encompasses education beginning from pre-school to university. Pre-tertiary education (pre-school to secondary education) is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education (MOE) while tertiary or higher education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). The vision of the Government is to make Malaysia a centre of educational excellence. In total, the 12 years of school education serves as the basic entry requirement into Year One of a bachelor’s degree programme in higher educational institutions. At tertiary education level, institutions of higher learning offer courses leading to the awards of certificate, diploma, first degree and higher degree qualifications at academic and professional fields. The duration of study for a basic bachelor degree programme is 3 years and the courses of study at this level are provided by both the public and private education sectors, attracting many international students. The method of delivery is a diversification with variety of study methods is available to satisfy students' needs and interest are traditional classroom leaching, e-learning, long distance learning, flexible learning, open learning, cross border learning and mixed learning.

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