Higher Education in Southeast Asia and Beyond #Issue 06

THE ROLE OF FALSAFAH PENDIDIKAN KEBANGSAAN IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF MALAYSIAN EDUCATION
good character, ethics and morality,
became the main thrust.
The challenge
The main challenge therefore is to ensure
that the fundamental objectives of the
education system, as initially intended by
the NEP, remain intact, namely to nurture
a balanced individual. An example of a
challenge comes when we look at the term
“human capital”, which in fact suggests the
opposite idea. Perhaps there are those that
would like to recognise “human capital”
as a trait of a balanced individual, but the
context is probably different. The economist
Theodore Schultz introduced this term in
the 1960s, attempting to reflect the value of
human ability as another model that was no
different than any other market model. He
believed that education and training could
improve this ability and enhance quality as
well as output. However, this takes a toll on
nurturing a balanced (sejahtera) individual
as understood from the perspective of the
NEP, more so from that of the 17 SDGs. In
both cases, the ultimate focus is to cultivate
a balanced way of life beyond the logic of the
market and to give equal emphasis to the
environment as well as to the society.
This is especially relevant in understanding
the dimensions of the human soul and heart,
which function as main pillars in balancing
human nature on several different levels. On
one level, the heart becomes a mirror of the
sincerity of the individual, comparable to an
attentive compass in providing decisions and
interpretations of being human. This aptly
mirrors the saying that the “soul to education
is in the education of the soul” in deepening
faith and submission to God, as per the NEP.
Unfortunately, concerns of this nature do not
receive the necessary attention they deserve
from the market.
In conclusion, we are reminded of what
R. Miller, the editor of a well-known
journal the Holistic Review, once wrote,
as quoted by David Orr:
Our culture does not nourish
that which is best or noblest in
the human spirit. It does not
cultivate vision, imagination,
or aesthetic or spiritual
sensitivity. It does not encourage
gentleness, generosity, caring, or
compassion. Increasingly in the
late 20th century, the economictechnocratic-statist
worldview has
become a monstrous destroyer
of what is loving and lifeaffirming
in the human soul.
HESB | SEPTEMBER 2019 | ISSUE #06 | PAGE 21