Kuala Lumpur - The e-Integrasi portal run by the Education Ministry has seen positive results in bringing students of various races closer.
According to a survey by Yayasan Kemajuan Sosial Malaysia (YKS), up to 36% of students had friends of other races after the first phase of e-Integrasi was introduced in September, compared to only 28% before.
Also, 37% of students could list down the traditional outfits of other races, compared to only 24% previously, and 25% of the students from the SJK(C) and SJK(T) schools had visited their Malay friends` houses during the recent Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, where only 18% had done so previously.
The portal is an online game, developed by YKS, and is part of the Ministry`s Student Integration Programme for Unity (Rimup).
According to YKS deputy president L. Krishnan, the survey was conducted on 200 students in Penang, Klang, and in Semborong, Johor.
“Unity today determines the future of tomorrow. Without unity, whatever we achieve today will be meaningless because it will not last,” said Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Zulkurnain Awang after launching the e-Integrasi portal for the Sentul group near here on Wednesday.
The event saw students from SK Sentul 1, SJK(C) Sentul and SJK(T) Sentul get together for a morning full of activities.
Zulkurnain added that the first phase of the programme involved 353 schools in Peninsular Malaysia, and there were plans to include Sabah and Sarawak in the next phase next year.
Source: thestar.com.my (15 November 2007)
