Drop Ethnic Relations, teach the Federal Constitution instead

Here's a no-brainer. Instead of baffling courses like Ethnic Relations, Malaysian Studies, and Malaysian Citizenship, why doesn't the government introduce one key program which can serve the goals of the topics above and more?

Let's teach the Federal Constitution in our institutions of higher learning.

The reasons are simple. The Constitution is the germ of our country's Being. Within it are principles on how the nation is to be governed, where checks and balances are, the respective roles of the executive, legislative and judiciary. It defines a Citizen of Malaysia. That's you and I.

It is codified – in black and white – and hence is more lucid than any interpretation-style course. It doesn't have to hide behind the cloaks of pseudo-academia and political agenda. Its textbook – the Federal Constitution itself – can be bought for RM15 at any decent bookstore.

I have reverence for the Constitution. You too, I'm sure. It is a given; my single responsibility as a Malaysian. I trust its contents. I have faith in it, although I admit to not knowing the Constitution well. I have read some key articles and digested them to the best of my faculties. Knowing bits and pieces is admittedly incomplete but at least now, I am more equipped to personally weigh national policies within a sound framework. Better, I have grounds to articulate why.

Currently there isn't widespread literacy in the Constitution among commonfolk and, I suspect, even among our national stewards. Hansards from Parliament reveal a lot and sometimes what they reveal is frightening. This deficiency is undoubtedly shackling our growth as a nation. We encounter a lot of screaming from many quarters – Parliamentarians, bloggers, comments on blogs, coffeeshop talk – but few have substance when probed. That's because these are shouts from the gut, and the gut is tribal.

We ask for Freedom, and freedom asks this of us: Be responsible. First know our bearings, our bones, then only can we act responsibly. Responsible debate, responsible process, responsible practice. The more we know our Constitution the more we collectively move forward responsibly.

This needn't be a dry course. Rather than exam-oriented, it can be a rich liberal arts-style module, full of probing questions and sharpening of principles. Lectures could be balanced with discussion sessions with readings from other sources. It would address fundamentals: What's the point of a constitution? What shaped ours? What are its key ideas? When is an amendment deemed necessary?

Would it be too much to learn, as well, the history of the Constitution and its subsequent amendments? How about including a broad survey of the constitutions of other countries – our Asean neighbours, our colonial mother Britain, the US, Egypt, Pakistan and India?

Would all this be too much to ask? I think not. Rather, this could be a legacy of the Pak Lah administration, a no-nonsense message about walking the talk. The Ministry of Higher Education can easily carry the responsibility of improving Constitution literacy among our youths. In fact, go one step better – have the course in the evenings and make it an open course where members of the public are free to audit such classes.

The Federal Constitution is a document I wish to study as a citizen of this country. Don't you?

Shall we?