This was a suggestion made by the Department of National Unity and Integration under the Prime Minister’s Department and the Committee to Promote InterFaith Understanding and Harmony, The Star reported today.
The chairman of the committee, Azman Amin Hassan, was quoted as saying that knowledge about all religions practised in the country should be taught as a formal subject in schools and at universities to strengthen unity and harmony in Malaysia.
“It’s not good enough that we know about our own religion. Interfaith studies should be taught in schools and universities so that Malaysians understand some basic things about other religions as well,” Azman said, adding that a research by Universiti Putra Malaysia revealed that Malaysians lacked knowledge about religions other than their own.
He said that many Malaysians are also unaware of the position of Islam as the religion of the Federation and the guarantee given to followers of other religions to practise their respective faith in peace and harmony in any part of the country (Article 3(1) of the Constitution) and proposed for information and knowledge on Malaysia’s Constitution to be taught in the suggested interfaith studies.
“If Malaysians had a better understanding of our Constitution, then hopefully they will respect each other more as they can see the guarantees which our country provides and how it encourages cooperation and harmony,” The Star quoted Azman as saying.
The suggestion was made at the 2016 Interfaith Forum, which saw representatives of groups from the seven major religions practised in Malaysia – namely Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism and the Bahai Faith – giving their views and participating in open dialogue on interfaith issues.
Director-General of the National Unity and Integration Department Gandesan Letchumanan told the forum that suggestions made will be submitted to the Government for consideration.
“We must uphold human values such as tolerance and co-operation and we must also hold a lot of dialogue because it will help to share knowledge,” Gandesan.
Another member of the 32-strong committee, Country Heights Holdings founder Lee Kim Yew told the forum that Malaysians should firstly identify themselves as “Malaysians” first.
“We could also build better understanding by co-operating on issues which affect followers of all faiths, for example, the sharing of knowledge about preventive health promoted in each of our communities, so that it can benefit all Malaysians,” Lee said, according to The Star.