The Malaysian Insight

KHAT, or Islamic calligraphy, is the latest issue to expose the fault-lines among Malays and non-Malays over the country’s education system.

The move to teach Chinese and Tamil primary schoolchildren khat and the Jawi Arabic script is finding opposition from administrators of vernacular institutions and even leaders of ruling coalition party DAP.

According to the Education Ministry, the aim of teaching khat is to expose to students to the beauty of calligraphy.

But, it’s a burden for non-Malay children, according to critics, who said they will be made to learn something that will be of no use to them later in life.

The more pessimistic critics, however, believe it is nothing more than an indirect way of Islamising young, non-Muslim minds, as khat and Jawi are inextricably linked to the Muslim faith.

After all, they said, if the government wants to expose pupils to a culture’s calligraphy, why not have Malay students learn the Chinese and Indian writing systems as well?

Below is a short explainer on the controversy.

What is khat? What is Jawi?

Khat is Islamic calligraphy that uses the Arabic script. According to Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi, khat is a type of visual art that has its own aesthetics, symbolism and meaning.

“To learn about khat is to appreciate an art form that has a specific history and philosophy,” said Awang Azman of Universiti Malaya’s Malay Studies academy.

Jawi, on the other hand, is simply the Arabic script, which includes its alphabets and punctuation marks that has been used in all writing for the Malay language before the switch to modern Roman letters.

The first newspapers in Malay, such as Utusan Melayu, during the pre-Merdeka period used the Jawi script.

Is teaching khat and Jawi a form of Islamisation?

“Teaching the history, forms and aesthetics of khat and Jawi doesn’t mean that we are Islamising non-Malays,” said Awang Azman.

Political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat said Jawi is often linked to Islam because the Quran is in Arabic and uses a similar script.

“But Jawi itself is religion-neutral and has been used for other religions besides Islam,” said the senior fellow at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia.

The first Malay-language Christian Bibles disseminated in the region also used the Jawi script, said Wong.  

Also, Bibles in countries, such as Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, are in the Arabic language and use the Arabic script.

How will it be taught in Chinese and Tamil primary schools?

Malay pupils already learn Jawi as part of their Islamic studies subject. Starting next year, a section on khat will be part of the primary four Bahasa Melayu textbook used in all national and national-type schools.

The section takes up six pages in the textbook and is aimed at giving pupils a basic understanding of Jawi.

The Education Ministry said pupils will not be tested on their mastery of the khat section.

Why has it attracted a firestorm of protest?

Chinese and Tamil education activists, as well as some DAP politicians, oppose the introduction of khat in vernacular schools and want it to be optional.

The United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Jiao Zong) said while it was not against efforts to promote intercultural exchanges and integration, the khat move caused suspicion, doubt and discomfort among its members.

A group of 138 DAP grassroots leaders, including 11 state legislators, also opposed the measure, saying it adds an unnecessary burden on pupils.

The group said that because vernacular school pupils are already learning three different languages and three different writing systems, the addition of another would burden them.

Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen reportedly said the region’s Chinese community have their doubts over the move, too.

But, other senior leaders, such as Liew Chin Tong and Lim Kit Siang, have come out to defend the move, saying that learning Jawi did not make them “less Chinese” or “more Malay”.

Lim said he had, in fact, taught himself Jawi while detained under the Internal Security Act in 1969, and said the experience made him “more Malaysian”.

How will this end?

Critics have suggested that if the government is serious about getting children to learn about other cultures and the beauty of each other’s calligraphy, national schools should also teach pupils Chinese and Indian calligraphy.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said that he was open to the suggestion from Dong Jiao Zong.

“That can be discussed, as when it comes to arts, we also want to emphasise the arts of different cultural and ethnic groups in Malaysia.”

DAP, meanwhile, will hold a briefing session on the move today to allay fears among its grassroots members.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has also put his foot down and said the move to introduce khat in schools will proceed. – August 5, 2019.