MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2007
part aTOWARDS BETTER MUSIC EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS FOR A BETTER
MUSICAL CULTURE IN MALAYSIAAUTHOR
JOHAMI ABDULLAH, D.N.S., A.N.S., PJK,
PRESIDENT,
MALAYSIAN ASSOCIATION FOR MUSIC EDUCATION
AUTHOR'S CONTACT DETAILS
232, JALAN ANGSANA 5/2
TAMAN PINGGIRAN GOLF
70400 SEREMBAN
PHONE: 06 6771850 / 019 6609427
FAX: 06 6771845
EMAIL: [email protected]
THE AUTHOR'S BACKGROUND
Johami bin Abdullah @ Joe Chelliah is a now retired music
educator. He was born in Serom Estate, Tangkak, Muar, Johor on
28.1.1944. His primary and secondary education was in the
Government English School in Muar. He finished his schooling in
1959 and started teaching straightaway in 1960 as a temporary
teacher.
He has taught at the primary, secondary and teachers' college
levels between 1960 and 1996. In 1984 he was awarded a governmental
scholarship to study music at the University of Iowa in USA and
returned with his MA in music education in 1987. He taught at The
Specialist Teachers College in Cheras since 1980 and retired as its
Head of the Music Department in 1996.
Johami has written a book in Malay titled "Pendidikan Muzik
Semasa" published in 1993 by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. He has also
written about music and music education that were published both
locally and overseas.He manages his own business as a music and
events consultant now and performs occasionally. He is also
currently a music activist through bodies such as MAHKOTA, Majlis
Muzik Malaysia, MACP, Persatuan Karyawan Malaysia, MASEVE and MAME
of which he has been president since 2002.
ABSTRACT
TOWARDS A MORE HEALTHY MUSICAL CULTURE IN MALAYSIA THROUGH
BETTER MUSIC EDUCATION
Keywords
Music, Music Education, MalaysiaABSTARCT OF PAPER
The author laments about many things that he has perceived as
wrong in the Malaysian music scene and music education since 1987
and outlines them. Poor music education, he says, is the main cause
for the music industry's woes and lack of better music aesthetics
amongst Malaysians.
Traditional music forms and patriotic songs are not appreciated
anymore by younger Malaysians who cannot not sing or appreciate
such music. Prominent composers of today shy away from composing
patriotic songs unlike in the early years of Merdeka.
The music industry had made in roads into Indonesia, Brunei and
Singapore at one time. There was also a healthy pop music concert
culture which has since declined and is in the doldrums for some
time now. Musical piracy, poor musical tastes together with the
lack of respect for intellectual property and copyrights are
mentioned. Governmental support and legislation in copyright laws
have helped somewhat.
Despite great advances in many other fields, the Malaysian music
industry and music education is lagging behind and this must be
addressed. Most innovative and/or remedial attempts in the
Malaysian music education system appear to have failed and appear
to be moving backwards.
Educational policy-making and management are still in the hands
of non-music educators or very junior music educators who may not
be as familiar with the realities of music education philosophies
and pedagogies as they should be. Poor music educator recruitment
requirements and procedures have also resulted in a lack of basic
musical competencies for effective music instruction in classrooms
and lecture halls alike. Many reasons are offered as to why music
is just as important as other subjects.
The positive situations that exist in advanced countries like
Japan and Germany for a better overall musical culture are also
mentioned in comparison to Malaysia. Much money is spent by the
government on music but not effectively channeled or used. The
author concludes that there has to be a genuine rethinking process
and initiatives by the government in collaboration with all
concerned in music education in Malaysia needs to be done
immediately. These efforts must consider music education as a basic
right of the child to develop skills and talent and to also
appreciate our cultural heritage.
PART B
THE ROLE OF MUSIC EDUCATION TOWARDS A BETTER MUSICAL CULTURE IN
MALAYSIA
INTRODUCTION
Ladies and Gentlemen and fellow musicians and music educators.
Assalamualaikum and Selamat Sejahtera.
It gives me great pleasure today to be able to present a paper
before such an esteemed audience at this landmark occasion. I thank
the National Arts Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara), the
Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage (KPKKWA), The Johore
State Government and of course MAHKOTA from the bottom of my heart
for inviting me to present my views on how a sound music education
program in schools and higher institutions can help improve the
many problems in the music industry and develop an overall better
musical culture and tradition in Malaysia today. More such forums
on music in Malaysia are very badly needed to improve matters
related to the prevailing musical culture in Malaysia today.
However, mere forums can do nothing much unless the government
itself initiates remedies and does something concrete about it. I
must add here that our friends in the mass media too can play a
truly big part in this matter to inform the masses.I have been
somewhat of a "voice in the wilderness" complaining about this or
that in relation to the various facets of music and music education
in Malaysia ever since 1987 when I returned from my music studies
in USA where I was shocked to see how backward we were in music,
particularly in music education. Many failed to see what I was
complaining about but today many are beginning to see the light.
Since then, I had written many articles of lamentation in the local
English newspapers (NST and the Star) besides a book in Malay
titled "Pendidikan Muzik Semasa" which is widely used in Malaysian
IPTs till today. That's what I am told. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
has found no need to re-publish this book since the 2nd edition in
1995 nor to call me to discuss a new edition. They are too busy I
suppose. As such the book is thoroughly photo copied by music
students.THE PROBLEMS
Poor music education for our young at all levels of the
education process to my mind is the main cause for the many ills
that we see in the music scene in Malaysia. Music fans these days
have begun to appreciate the artistes themselves more than the
music that they deliver. This is actually more of a cult culture
wrongly identified with music appreciation. There is hardly any
appreciation left for almost all forms of other music except pop
music. TV programs of the past that featured traditional musics
regularly such as keroncong, dikir barat, boria, ghazal, asli and
dondang sayang over RTM are now history. Some of you may not
remember this simply because you were either too young or were not
born yet. An entirely new generation of radio and TV producers and
deejays has cropped up who may not have themselves experienced the
joys of music when they were in school and are one principal cause
for this no traditional music situation to exist. Increasing
commercialism in broadcasting has not helped either. No one in the
corporate world in his or her "right mind" rushes to sponsor any
traditional or arts music program on TV in spite of much talk from
them about corporate social responsibility. Most Malaysians cannot
sing the national or state anthem well today. Way back in the
1960's and 70's, we used to stand and sing the national anthem
played at movie theatres, stadiums and even at the end of social
functions. What has happened to such aspects of the musical culture
of the early Merdeka years? Why are the prominent composers of
today steering clearly away from composing traditional, folk and
patriotic songs? In the 1950's and 1960's the musical greats of the
period like Jimmy Boyle, Alfonso Soliano, Dato Ahmad Merican, Johar
Bahar, Dato Johari Salleh, Tony Fonseka and of course Tan Sri P.
Ramlee himself all composed nationalistic flavored songs with
hardly any financial incentives in mind. One such last patriotic
effort was when Michael Veerapen and Paul Ponnudurai composed "One
Thousand Million Smiles" for Sudirman to sing at the Royal Albert
Hall in London way back in 1989. How many of us today can today
confidently sing our beautiful patriotic songs like Putra Puteri,
Tanah Pusaka, Cendering, Sg. Pahang, Titiwangsa, Gunung Kinabalu,
Setangkai Mawar, Tanjung Bunga, Gunung Jerai and so on.
Music teachers from my generation taught such songs in the
sixties and seventies. These songs were also aired through programs
like Siaran ke Sekolah-Sekolah by RTM. There was a Pesta Muzik
religiously held in every state annually. There were many national
song writing contests organized as late as the 1990's. Such
non-formal efforts to advance music and music education should
have, logically speaking, progressed but developments in Malaysia
especially since the KBSR era have, sad to say, almost totally
negated such early efforts and advancements.By the 1980's our
musicians and recording artistes had also made headway overseas
including Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei and were able to compete
on par commercially. One artiste organization (not from MAHKOTA)
even organized a picket lately in knee-jerk fashion to protest
against Indonesian songs played over the radio stations instead of
getting our people to produce more quality music like the
Indonesians who have overtaken us. Yes, there was a more healthy
culture of music consumption and music making with concerts held
almost everyday in some part of Malaysia back then. We had band
contests on radio and TV that were judged by real professionals.
Concert promoters abounded in the 1980's and 1990's. We even
introduced a new brand of commercially viable religious Islamic
music to the world - the Raihan brand of Nasyid music. Warner Music
headed by Dato Tony Fernandes at that time had the vision to okay
the first recordings of such music. Yes, we were on the right path
and moving ahead. This is not so today. Where have we gone wrong? I
believe that this situation has come about, as I mentioned, because
of no meaningful music education being given to our young at all
levels of the Malaysian education process from kindergartens to
colleges and universities.SO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO IMPROVE THE
SITUATION
Focused research is needed to answer such questions validly. It
could come from the sociology and music departments in our own
universities. I am yet to be enlightened by any such research
published locally. Academics in the Malaysian government's think
tank who advise the government could also do the same if they are
not already doing it. They should be as that is part of their job.
Anyway, I doubt that there is anyone in the Malaysian think tank
sufficiently qualified in arts and music to do a valid job. In any
case, a few academics like Professor Dr. Tan Sooi Beng of USM and
Dr. Minnie Ang have done some ethno-musical or music technology
related writings that have been published mainly overseas. I
understand that certain divisions of the Ministry of Education such
as The Educational Planning and Research Division (EPRD) too have
conducted some research but never had it published and had instead
cloaked it in secrecy. Why should this be so? Any worthy research
should rightfully be in the public domain for scrutiny.Highly
regarded universities in developed countries are noted mainly for
their never ending research and publications. We have questions in
Malaysia that need researched answers and not mere opinions of
legislators or education managers. If necessary, we should resort
to expatriate academic investigation into this matter. There is
nothing to be shy about it if we do not have enough local scholars
to do so. We have brought in foreign expertise in other areas have
we not? We have done so for developing sports in our country or
improving our economics. A German consultant was brought in to
assess the damage to our MRR2 just about two weeks ago. I can only
think of one instance where an experienced Russian music professor
was brought in to conduct the newly formed orchestra at University
Putra Malaysia. Within a very short time, the students were
performing even a Beethovenian piano concerto very satisfactorily
and for a student orchestra at that. It shows that our students are
capable but lack proper musical leadership. Sadly, his contract was
terminated too soon and the orchestra, though still existing, is no
where what it was under the Russian maestro's baton. Of course we
must not forget that we have brought in foreigners to man "our"
Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) that is costing us a bomb to
maintain since its formation in 1989. It is maintained by PETRONAS.
But the MPO comprises almost entirely of foreign musicians and has
least benefitted our own classical music performers since its
inception. Many of us are still questioning its existence and
relevance in Malaysia today. At best it perpetuates an elitist
approach to music appreciation and benefits only a small concert
audience who are mostly from the Klang Valley.
Perhaps it would be a lot wiser to spend such money by bringing
in music professors worth their salt from musically developed
countries like Germany, Russia, Japan, UK or the USA to plan our
music programs at all levels and also teach our students, teachers
and lecturers. Such people can lead and inspire our locals to do a
better job eventually with the spillover of their expertise. Such
expatriates can also head the various levels of top educational
management in music education in Malaysia for at least ten years
while the locals shadow them and eventually take over. Let us not
be like Idi Amin who promoted himself from being a corporal to a
five star general in his army when he kicked out all foreigners in
his frenzied nationalistic mood. Today Uganda is one of the poorest
countries in the world with a per capita income of RM 300 in spite
of its rich natural resources.When we started music education in
the local universities we needed lecturers, faculty heads and
deans. To solve the problem, we did an Idi Amin and placed very
junior music educators who have had no more than a year's
experience after getting their MAs or Phd. to fill such positions
and life went on. What we had needed were experienced music
educators and professors who could inspire students with their
knowledge and research. They could have even brought in expatriate
help even then.
I also wish to draw a parallel here. In the 1950's, experienced
graduates from Kerala in India were brought in to teach pure
science and additional mathematics when such subjects were
introduced. I was taught by them. We did not do an Idi Amin then.
So today we have our own pool of well qualified math and science
teachers at all levels of the education process. The same thing was
done in the 1970's again when we wanted to introduce pure science
and additional mathematics but in the national language. What did
we do? We brought in experienced and senior Indonesian math and
science teachers to do the job in the Malaysian schools and
institutions like the MARA colleges. But in music education we have
definitely started on the wrong foot. But it is never too late to
rectify this, I must add.WOES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
More and more people have started complaining openly about the
sad state of affairs in the music industry too. Recording
companies, singers and composers complain because of their economic
loss and deprivation. Music piracy which continues unabated is one
such grouse. Original recordings get poorer sales. Some recording
companies have stopped recording new albums and play around with
compilation albums instead and have now resorted to the internet
downloads to increase their annual gross sales figures. Some have
simply shut down their operations. Leading music industry players
have moved on to greener pastures including the aviation industry.
Composers are accused of churning out low quality music with
predictable melodies and lyrics. They in return argue that it is
what the general Malaysian public wants. It is a "chicken and egg
situation". Which comes first? The music industry players also
argue that what the public wants the public gets. Can we blame
them? Music is a business to them and commercial motives by far
outweigh almost all other considerations such as musical literacy,
aesthetics, diversified musical styles, nationalistic feelings and
most importantly quality in music. As such the overall quality
control is poor and a musically illiterate audience swallows
everything "hook, line and sinker". Advances in music recording and
reproduction have been very significant. With digital technology,
pirated music sounds as good as the originals which are cloned and
sold for a fraction of the cost for the originals. There have been
accusations of over pricing for original albums for music piracy to
flourish. Prices were somewhat brought down with governmental
intervention of the market forces but with no noticeable or
significant results. There are still complaints that only one or
two good songs can be found in an album while the rest of the songs
are mere fillers. So why do we have to pay RM 20 or so for such
albums argue consumers. Music pirates simply compile about twenty
such "killer" hit songs and pack them into one album and sell them
off at the rate of RM 10 for three CDs which the public then rush
to buy. This is because the general Malaysian public clearly does
not respect intellectual property nor quality conscious. So where
does the fault lie? One reason, I believe, is that such values are
not being taught or inculcated in Malaysian schools, colleges and
universities. Toady, we see today better and more physical
infrastructures in just about every facet of Malaysian life. Yes,
in the commercial music sector, we have the latest state of the art
digital equipment at broadcasting stations, commercial recording
studios and for live entertainment. Yes we have better musical
instruments. Yes, we have professional audio (PA) equipment in
Malaysia that is world class and suited to even the world's top
artistes. However, most public utility halls including those in
schools and hotels have out-of-date sound equipment that had been
installed with equally outdated specs and no one knows enough to
complain about it. We have all attended wedding functions where the
band and the sound system can drive us nuts and make us want to
leave early. So much money is spent at such weddings for food,
invitation cards, bridal attires and the bedroom dcor. But when it
comes to musical entertainment the cheapest band and sound system
in town are employed without a blink of the eye. This badly affects
the sales and rentals industry too which is often forgotten as
being part of the music industry too. I believe it's because we
have failed to educate Malaysians on what quality in music is all
about. How can we change this sort of mindset? I am sorry to say
this bluntly but the KBSR & KBSM programs have failed to do so.
Today, most Malaysians:1. Are equally uninformed about almost all
aspects of music except perhaps the
personal details of their favorite singers through the mainly
gossip based reports in the dailies and the broadcasting media.
This is very obvious in the Malay pop music scenario.
2. Are incapable of serious or intelligent thought / discussion
on any kind of
music including their preferred variety. This can include music
journalists too.
3. Think of music as purely serving a hedonistic or sensuous
function and often associate it only with such concomitant modes of
behaviors such as drinking, dancing, free sex and drugs and are
most of the time totally ignorant of the many nobler outcomes that
music can provide.
4. Have very narrow musical tastes with usually a distinct
preference for the pop variety.
5. Increasingly give more priority to music as a visual art
rather than an aural one.
6. Love Hindi songs passionately mainly because of the pretty /
handsome faces who
deliver the songs on the screen but fail to truly appreciate the
brilliant manipulation of western musical instruments and harmonies
that are made subservient to Indian ragas and talas by brilliant
Indian composers like A.R. Rehman.
7. Look down on any non-European music especially if they happen
to come from English speaking homes with a misguided notion that
the only music worth studying or listening to should be music from
the West - both from the present or from the past.
8. Are not bothered about copyrights and intellectual property
resulting in widespread musical piracy.
9. Have not heard of patriotic songs such as Pahlawan Ku unless
a pop singer like
Siti Nurhaliza sings it a Merdeka Day programme.
10. Cannot identify any musical instrument by its name - be it a
Western or a non-
Western one including Malay, Chinese or Indian instruments.
11. Are incapable of singing the national anthem or respective
state anthem accurately.
12. Look upon formal musical notation as both cumbersome as well
as not worth
learning even if they happen to be professional musicians or
singers preferring
instead to play / sing by heart (by rote).
I could go on and on but surely the aforesaid should be
sufficient to illustrate my point.BETTER MUSIC EDUCATION IS
DEFINITELY THE ANSWER
Prominent people are also beginning to notice the educational
imbalance in Malaysia. The good and learned Raja Muda of Perak,
DYMM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah, remarked on this problem directly when
he said that that a system of evaluation in education which was
overly inclined towards academic performance was contrary to the
principles of nature and subjected educators to a blurred or
short-sighted view, which made them fail to interpret the wider and
more comprehensive educational philosophies. ('Recognize
Non-academic talent - NST 29.6.08). Dr. Azly Rahman, who now
teaches in the University of Columbia in the USA, is a respected
Malay intellectual. In one of his articles, he warns us of the
dangers of demonic music and suggests that its time for PETRONAS to
help finance bands and orchestras in our public schools.Believe me
when I say that I have seen all kinds of educational reforms and
innovative attempts since the 1950s. Music education too has had
its fair share of changes. The school goers from the 1950's and
60's generation (now mostly senior citizens) will remember some
form of fun music activity in the classroom as well as choirs and
marching bands which they had as co-curricular activity. From the
early 1970s specialist teachers in music were trained for this
purpose at the Music Department of the Specialist Teacher Training
Institute (STTI) now known as Institut Perguruan Ilmu Khas. The
teachers chosen for the one year music course were not only
qualified teachers in other subjects but also had clear musical
abilities. Then came the compulsory label attached to music
education with the introduction of Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah
(KBSR) in all primary schools in 1983. We were overjoyed and
welcomed this move.The status of music and what actually went on in
the classrooms since 1983 with the introduction of KBSR music can
even be said to have taken a backward step. The government per se
on its part has spent perhaps billions by now to develop music and
to be fair, has been quite consistent in this matter. However,
something has gone seriously wrong in the implementation process
though. Why?
I have several reasons to state here.
1. Till now, the higher levels of music education planning and
management have always been in the hands of local non-music
educators who are rarely in touch with reality. 2. An overall
misunderstanding of what constitutes quality music education
especially by such educational planners.
3. No meaningful expatriate expertise has been sought in the
field of music education planning till now.
4. Poor or no meaningful coordination between the various
divisions of the Ministry of Education. 5. Music educators in the
lower rungs of education management tend to give a wrong impression
of what is really happening to their superiors and even may hide
weaknesses in the system to make everything and everybody look
good.
6. Valid ideas from trained music educators are shot down by
higher ranking educational managers and/or policy makers.7. Poor
quality control in the recruitment of music teachers resulting in
non-musically inclined persons with "not so good" academic
credentials being selected as trainee music teachers especially
since the early KBSR days.8. Non-music trained teachers are asked
to teach music in the primary schools while music graduates in
secondary schools are forced to teach non-music subjects.
9. Lack of basic musical competency among most music educators
at all levels.
10. Some major misconceptions among the higher echelons of
educational planning and management must include the following:
Music education is not that important.
Anyone can be trained to teach music - even the non-musical
ones
That Math and Science from the computational intelligence domain
of the intellect are not important for a music teacher to function
well. THE SITUATION IN DEVELOPED NATIONS CAN BE OUR MODELIt may be
of interest to note that in developed countries like Germany and
Japan it is mandated by the Ministry of Education that every child
Grade 1-9 receives two hours (120 minutes) a week of sequential
music instructions from a music specialist. This instruction takes
place in all elementary and all junior high schools from its
inception to its completion and is centered on the:
1. Appreciation of Music.
2. Expression or making music
Every school in Japan, for instance, is equipped with the
instructional materials and instruments needed to enable the
teachers to do their job thoroughly. These materials and equipments
include song books, rhythm instruments, and a piano, a desk top
keyboard for each student and many other supplementary teaching and
learning aids. Each school building has a room exclusively
dedicated to music instruction. Thus music is part of the school
facility and not treated like an orphaned anak angkat as is the
case in most Malaysian schools. Music is an integral part of basic
education curriculum for the first nine years of schooling. In
addition, optional music instruction for such as ensembles,
choruses, band and orchestra are given at school after formal
school hours. This preoccupation with music as centre and essential
part of a young person school day is not exclusive to Japan. It
exists in Germany too where each student receives a minimum of 90
minutes class periods per week in music from Kindergarten through
12th Grade. Norway and of course the USA would be other good
examples amongst many of the countries with a major commitment to
music in the public schools.Only the Chinese medium schools in
Malaysia can come anywhere near this type of educational approach
because the philosophies of Confucius are held in high esteem in
these institutions. The most famous saying of Confucius on music
education might be: To educate somebody, you should start from
poems, emphasize on ceremonies, and finish with music."
In other words, one cannot expect to become educated without
learning music. However, I heard recently that our educational
planners in the Ministry of Education are considering cutting down
on the time allocation for music in the primary school from 120
minutes to a mere 30 minutes and combining music with the arts at
that. I hope this remains a rumor for if it is true we are
definitely going the wrong way.SO WHAT CONSTITUTES A QUALITY
GENERAL MUSIC EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR THE SCHOOLS?
A quality music education programme must be one that has a
positive impact in educating a child holistically. This must be
seen as observable behavior in all children irrespective of whether
they are from the Arts or Science stream. Not everyone is born with
music making capability but can be trained to appreciate and
treasure music. Some outcomes of a quality general music education
program therefore must have school leavers who can:1. Sing with a
reasonable sense of accuracy in rhythm and pitch.
2. Appreciate different kinds of music and styles.3. Talk
intelligently about music 4. Know that a great diversity of music
and musical styles exist in the world both from the as well as the
present.
5. Use music as an essential tool for the wise use of leisure
time throughout their entire lives.
6. Have some very basic understanding of different: Musical
styles - traditional, ethnic, modern, world music etc. Musical
Instruments - ethnic, orchestral as well as modern. Music
notational systems
Clearly, music education provides the young child with another
strong avenue for true overall success in the varied education
process. The impact of a school music education curriculum can only
be strong if there is real teaching and learning taking place. For
this we need music teachers with at least basic musical
competencies. Such is not the situation now.Please allow me to
quote from The School Music Program: Description and Standards
Music Educators National Conference, 2nd Ed, 1987 - USA as to why
music is very important from the very early stages of formal
education itself.
1. Music is just worth knowing as in music for musics sake.
2. Music is one of the most important manifestations of our
cultural heritage.3. Music is a potential in every individual and
like all other potentials should be developed to its fullest.
4. Music provides an outlet for creativity, self-expression and
individual uniqueness.
5. It enables us to express our noblest thoughts and
feelings.
6. Music teaches students about unique aspects of their
relationships with other human beings and with the world around
them, in their own as well as other cultures
7. Music opens avenues of success for students who may have
problems in other areas of the curriculum.
8. Studying Music increases the satisfaction students derive
from music by sharpening sensitivity, raising their level of
appreciation and also expanding their musical horizons.
9. Music is one of the most powerful and profound symbol systems
that exist.
10. Music helps students learn a significant lesson-that not all
aspects of life are quantifiable
11. Music exalts the human spirit.12. Music encourages
analytical and divergent thinking.
Recent educational research on the nature of intelligence and
brain function too gives promising indications that could change
the face of education. Will listening to music make you smarter?
Will learning to play a musical instrument make your brain grow
larger than normal? Questions like these ones have been popping up
all over the place in the past few years and not just in scientific
journals either. Scientists have discovered that music training has
significant influences on the brain development of young children
leading to improved memory over the course of a year. The fact that
musical training changes the way the brain reacts to music might
not be very surprising, but researchers also found that the
musically trained children performed better in a memory test that
is correlated with other skills such as literacy, verbal memory,
Visio-spatial processing and Mathematics. All such research
suggests that music may act as a catalyst for cognitive abilities
in other disciplines but more longitudinal studies are needed to
confirm these findings. It is sad that in Malaysia educational
planners seldom follow such innovations in educational thought. The
ultimate goal of public music education should not be just to
produce students capable of concert or popular music performances
but one that will allow young people to participate and interact
intelligently with music for their entire lives.
Nothing much has moved forward either since the KBSM music
program was introduced for secondary schools. Despite having a
significant increase in the number of graduate music teachers
posted to schools graduating from the local universities in recent
years, it is sad that any secondary school aspiring to introduce
this new KBSM curriculum has to come up with its own funds. So if
the school decides not to have a KBSM music program, trained music
graduate teachers posted there are then asked to teach non-music
subjects. What a waste and mismanagement of human capital. I
believe that such teachers should be sent to the primary schools
where there is a critical shortage of trained music teachers. The
notion that graduates should teach only in secondary schools or
higher institutions is also an outdated one. My son had a music
educator with a Phd. teaching him at the kindergarten level in the
USA in 1984. This is how backward our thinking has been all these
years.It is abundantly clear that as the nation develops rapidly in
other areas not enough parallel development is happening in the
domain of the fine arts especially in the schools. The two
Ministries of Education in Malaysia may want to seek "outside" help
in such matters. Locally they can turn to MAHKOTA and other NGOs
for the arts.There is no doubt in my mind that music can play a
pivotal role in society. Malaysian legislators and educators must
themselves be first convinced that music education must have a core
place in a reformed curriculum. In a multi ethnic, culture and
religion country such as Malaysia where the population base is
relatively young it is imperative that we re-examine the role of
music education in the context of social development and also as an
avenue for the wiser use of leisure time. The general Malaysian
perception towards music education seems to be the main cause of
all our problems and dissatisfaction in public and private music
education. In this matter, I would like to put forth some views of
the world renowned and eminent music educator Paul R. Lehman who is
a Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in
USA.
He says that the greatest threat to school music programs today
comes from principals and other decision-makers who did not
experience challenging and rewarding music programs themselves
while in school. They dont realize what a good music program can do
for a child, for a school, and for a community. He also believes
that it is not the central purpose of education, for example, to
help the student to get a job. Professor Lehman also says that a
nation is judged by posterity not by the strength of its army, or
by its trade surpluses and deficits, nor by its students scores on
standardized tests, but principally by its contributions to the
arts and humanities. It is, according to him, the achievements of a
civilization in the arts and humanities that remain when everything
else is swept away by time. Music is not merely an adornment of
life; it is a basic manifestation of being human.
It may surprise many of us that a holistic approach towards
education is indeed the main intent and purpose of our National
Education Philosophy (NEP). There have been no changes made to this
philosophy. As a direct result of the NEP, music was formally
introduced in the Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah (KBSR) back in
1983. But 25 years down the line, the situation appears to have
worsened. The working curriculum (i.e. the actual educational
experiences children undergo at the school) has not been in
congruence with this particular aspect of the NEP. The main problem
clearly lies in the over-emphasis that has been placed upon
children to achieve exemplary results in the public examinations by
parents. Teachers have, over time, become accommodative of this
trend and must also bear some blame.
In January 2007, The National Education Blueprint 2006-2010 was
launched by the Prime Minister to lay the foundation for
educational reformation to take place by identifying six thrusts
nation-building, developing human capital, strengthening national
schools, narrowing the education gap, improving the teaching
profession and accelerating excellence at educational institutions.
Sadly, except for a mere mention of music in association with
cluster schools, the role of music education is totally absent in
all the six areas of thrust mentioned. Unlike KPKKWA which
consulted a host of people including activists and NGOs concerned
about music, theatre and drama before it came out with its Dasar
Pembangunan Industri Muzik the National Education Blueprint did
nothing of the sort and went on their own. So the arts are
significantly absent in this blueprint.
Professor Emeritus Dato' Dr. Khoo Kay Kim, the highly regarded
and renowned academic had this to say of The National Education
Blueprint.
"We do not need this blueprint to produce excellent students.
What we need is a revival of the old education system... meaning
the education system we had before 1957. That was when we saw
dedication from the teachers. The Malaysian education system then
was second to none in Asia. We did not have sports schools but we
produced citizens who were Asian class, if not world class." Maybe
going back to 1957 may have been exaggerated a little for effect
but a better and holistic education in the actual school situation
delivered by talented and dedicated teachers is definitely what the
young need. Achieving academic results by merely regurgitating
facts in parrot fashion is not what constitutes good education. An
immediate national long term strategy needs to be formulated to
arrest this problem. To my mind, this can only be done by first
reviewing the way in which our present education system itself is
packed, administered and delivered. CONCLUSION
In conclusion let me briefly state what I think needs to be done
immediately. The present situation warrants a call for open
discussion on the role of Music Education in the National Agenda
which, in Malaysia, the government alone can prioritize and
initiate. We need policy makers and educational planners to sit
together with advisors from relevant Ministries such as KPKWA, arts
activists and music associations as one body and re-define the
function and role of music in society much beyond the entertainment
level as a national policy and have it approved by the cabinet.
Here are some basic guidelines that should help.1. Music Education
should never be elitist and considered relevant only for the
affluent or musically gifted. 2. Music education must be seen as a
basic right of every child to be given equal opportunity to develop
skills and talents in the wide field of music. 3. Music should be
viewed an aspect of our cultural heritage and it should be enjoyed
and appreciated by every member of the community. 4. Music
Education should be also promoted as catalyst for national
integration in view of the multi-racial population in Malaysia. 5.
Music Education should also be considered as part and parcel of the
total integrated social development plan for the entire population.
Let me end with these wise words from that great Greek philosopher
Plato."Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings
to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to
life and to everything. "Thank you for your kind attention.
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