“If it is right, it is right, and GBN is on a page with the MoE on this.GBN also urges the MoE to consider making the art a compulsory component in upper secondary school subjects as well”
GERAKAN BANGSA NASIONAL
Gerakan Bangsa Nasional (GBN) fully supports the Ministry of Education’s plan to introduce the art of khat as part of the Bahasa Melayu subject for Year Four students and hopes the move will be extended to secondary level.
In a statement yesterday, the MoE said it had engaged linguists and educationists to discuss the proposal which, according to the ministry, had been around since 2014.
“Khat is an integral part of Malaysia’s national identity and Bahasa Malaysia, which is the national language and the language of unity.”
According to a news report by FMT, the ministry went on to point out that khat appears on the coat of arms for Malaysia and various states, as well as on banknotes.
The report read:
The ministry’s plans to introduce khat drew protests from Chinese educationist groups Dong Zong and Jiao Zong, which said this would further burden students and teachers.
They also said this had nothing to do with mastering the national language.
The two groups also claimed that khat is “not suitable” to be part of the Bahasa Melayu subject.
Some 138 DAP grassroots office bearers, including 13 state assemblymen, have urged DAP ministers to object to such plans.
The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) said there was nothing wrong in the move to include khat, saying it would expose students to the art and should not be politicised.
Khatt Islami, which literally means Islamic line, design, or construction is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, based upon the alphabet in lands sharing common Islamic cultural heritage and includes Arabic Calligraphy, Ottoman, and Persian calligraphy.
The development of Khat calligraphy is intertwined with the Al Qur’an, whereby chapters and excerpts from the Islamic Holy Book are common and near-universal texts upon which Islamic calligraphy is based.
However, the art – which is what it is – isn’t limited to religious subjects, objects, or spaces and is most certainly not a form of Islamic indoctrination.
Earlier today, Amanah vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the government’s intention was viewed as efforts to revitalise khat or jawi writing and to ensure that students not missing out on the beautiful art form.
“For me, there shouldn’t be a problem for the art of khat to be introduced, it just that sometimes we are bombarded with sentiments as if it we want to induce the non-Muslims into Islam, which is not true because it is a very beautiful art of writing.
“Not only jawi writing, other types (of writings) including Chinese calligraphy can also be highlighted as it relates to the art of writing that brings good and can be used to generate income,” he told reporters.
If it is right, it is right, and GBN is on a page with the MoE on this.
GBN also urges the MoE to consider making the art a compulsory component in upper secondary school subjects as well.
GERAKAN BANGSA NASIONAL