It is no secret that Malaysia is no great hub of intellectualism. This is a country where the wise remain silent and the most vocal voices belong to select, mediocre minds. Many Malaysians just blindly accept the messages spread through the media and social networking sites. Clearly, critical thinking is almost non-existent in Malaysians. This is hardly surprising given how we were taught as kids. Since the schooling years, all of us were only thought to take information we were fed and not to question any further. It was ingrained in us that to question our elders meant disrespecting them. So, we held our tongues, afraid of being branded unruly and of being punished.
By the time we passed on to adulthood, we have forgotten how to use our minds and voices all together. Back then, we were being fed by our parents and teachers. Now, we are told what and how to think by the government and media, by twisted propaganda and misguided people.
The problem has been handed down through the generations. It is glaringly obvious in Malaysia's education system. The performance of Malaysian students on international tests such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has been dropping continuously over the years. Countries like Thailand and Vietnam are scoring better than us - not to mention Singapore of course, which is soaring overhead.
This conundrum worsens when the leaders of our society denounce ideas and schools of thought that promote and encourage critical thinking like liberalism and humanism.
Liberalism is a school of thought that is based on liberty (or freedom) and equality. It advocates ideas like free elections, freedom of religion and free trade. As Malaysian citizens, don't we wish to have these things in our supposedly democratic country?
Humanism is a separate school of thought which also relies heavily on critical thinking. Concepts such as equality, social just, civil rights and altruism are important building blocks in humanism.
To speak out against these fundamental ideas would be do speak out against what they stand for. Are we Malaysians truly against free elections? Do we not seek social justice and equality?
It is time for Malaysians to strive to think critically, to expand their minds beyond what they have been told and explore the vast oceans of knowledge that surrounds us.
So before thinking of ways to solve this problem, we must first ask: what is critical thinking?
The National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking defines critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.
Now, isn't that a mouthful.
Basically, critical thinking is when we question everything we see, hear, think, read and experience in our daily lives. We question it's validity, reliability and reasoning. Then, and only then, do we accept said information or thought and use it as a basis for action. Malaysians must learn to examine the faults with much of the information we are given today. To think critically, we must stop blindly defending one side of an argument but look at something from both sides and evaluate it's pros and cons. We must not be overly emotional when examining information as this leads to clouded judgement and reasoning.
Finally, and most importantly, if our judgement, reasoning or idea is found to be incorrect, we must follow it up with an appropriate response - namely, a shift in position; instead of blindly holding on to the old and irrelevant opinion or concept.
A thirst for knowledge, a wider perspective and a healthy dose of skepticism is what all of us Malaysians need. Negative attitudes like intellectual laziness, intellectual arrogance and unwillingness to listen to the opposing party must be discarded. We must also stop thinking in black and white; the world is not divided to right and wrong, your opinion and my opinion or any other two opposing parties. More than two options exist in the world. We must learn to seek and understand the grey area between two extremes.
Of course, it's all easier said than done. In order for critical thinking to become a part of our lives, every one of us need to play a part. Individually, we need to start seeking our information instead of waiting for it to come to us. We need to be aware of our own areas of ignorance and seek to erase it. As a society, we need to be more willing and receptive of ideas from groups other than our own. Obviously, our education system needs to be heavily reformed - because no matter how many HOTS questions students have to answer in the exams, it still doesn't change the fact that when it comes to critical thinking, the system falls short. I also think that a good way to get Malaysians to really start thinking is to abolish racially-based political parties and to replace it with ones that are ideology-based. Also, free press and free speech would be great.
Of course, change does not come easy. It will be long and difficult road before Malaysia becomes a nation of thinkers but the rewards would be great. When Malaysians learn to think critically, each of us will become intellectually independent people who are responsible for our own thoughts and are able to socially-constructed biases aside. Only then will be able to rise about the barriers of race and religion that has divided us for so long and come together as one, unified community: a Malaysian community.
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'” - Isaac Asimov
-Bal
