Khat, Jawi, Chinese calligraphy: nothing religious or racial about learning them

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.”As for learning khat, Jawi or Chinese calligraphy in school, there is nothing religious or racial about it. Unfortunately, in Malaysia’s polarised society, matters of this nature can easily be politicised.

In contrast, Jawi is more of a culturally and linguistically accepted genre in the Malay archipelago. Jawi, on the other hand, is more localised though it has its roots in the Arabic language. It has been used for written communication in the Malay archipelago and was practised long before and during the colonial days. It has also become an intrinsic part of the Malay language and culture.

The use of Jawi script was a key factor in the advent of Malay as the lingua franca of this region. Jawi was used not only by the ruling class, but by the commoners as well. Palace correspondence, decrees, local laws and manuscripts were written in Jawi at one time. The Orientalists took the trouble to master Jawi to understand the culture of the Malays. If one were to claim to be a scholar of the Malay language, he would have to have an in-depth knowledge of this script.

Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)

Politicians need a SENSITIVE ISSUE TO DIVERT ATTENTION

The usage of many religious terms such as Allah for many years is prohibited for non Muslims by the old regime & still in force except for East Msian. Why the hypocrisy that there is the need to learn Khat as a form of casual art when the terms translated is forbidden? moaz

Politics aside, they wrote it very well & beautiful ☺️

Have we gotten our priorities right? Why are we even talking about forms of calligraphy, and do we need to make it a compulsory subject? There are other important topics, like morality, civic mindedness, hygiene etc. All these to make us a better person.

Not acquiring skills in khat does not make someone unpatriotic as well

Now you are saying khat is Islamic calligraphy? And the government make it mandatory for primary 4 kids to learn Islamic calligraphy?

Yes. Buddhists and Hindus and others can write their favourite verses and produce the art work called khat. Let’s celebrate national heritage

Acquiring haha. It's knowledge. U don't necessarily have to acquire the skills. It's not even in exams. Should we forgo to learn a smidgen of rich culture for other priorities. 'we CAn TEacH FinAnCe iNsTeAD' pfft then parents will say it's too early.

Political mileage for the sheep

No the question is what for?

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Khat or no khat, Malaysians must go beyond zero-sum game of no returnThe introduction of khat might not be a big issue but if it isn't handled well, it could be an albatross around the PH government. FMTNews Thanks to speak prof. Someone voice up. Feeling sad. Beginning of force religion. What for? When 'khat' is explained by powers-2b s n artform, then stick it 2b jz n arts lesson. What may evolve is soon, written jawi will appear everywhere, starting wt roads n no1 can say it cannot b read bcos now it is taught in schools.
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Don't implement khat just yet, say Chinese educationist groupsDong Zong, Jiao Zong and 10 other Tamil- and Chinese-Interest groups say the education ministry should provide further explanations before the move is implemented in schools. FMTNews It does not take a lot of effort to locate the syllabus online. If you want to know whether 'it meets the needs' of your students, be proactive, look it up and think for yourself. There is no need to make a scene by feigning ignorance. Please read the Federal Constitution. We need to sit down & trash this matter with ALL political parties involved not NGO! They can propose only. If not Malaysia will go to nowhere in economy & tolerancy among all races. Who's the stirrer of this issue....now pacts of Monkeys came out !!
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Postpone khat introduction, say Chinese and Tamil edu groupsThey want the ministry to specify what will be added to the syllabus before rolling out the initiative. I wonder why these folks are so afraid of khat ? foreheadslap We don't need no Khat-ducation! We don't need no Khat-control! No one stops you from learning java etc. The thing about jawi that it is a heritage of Malaysian and it is fading. So in order to preserve it, gov introduce it in BM and it only consist 6 pages. No test, no exam. Only general knowledge. What's the fuss?
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