Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) Across Malaysia, 86,000 teenagers of various ethnic backgrounds are sharing tents together. They are not homeless or run-aways. They have been randomly chosen to participate in a compulsory scheme devised by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to "attract and mold youths to see themselves as members of one big Malaysian family." Defense Minister Najib Razak manages the operative, "We want to teach them to respect each other."
Launched on February 10th, the programme brings the 18 year olds together for one month of physical training and two months of course work in character and nation- building, and community service, in a number of multi-racial camps across the country.
Among the selected youth are Anne Sarah Mariman, an Indian Catholic hoping to be a sports trainer; Farah Hamzah, a Malay Muslim and aspiring Islamic-school teacher, and Michael Ong, an ethnic Chinese computer technician undecided in his religious beliefs. After participating in the programme, Anne wrote to Malaysia's The Sun paper, "I know more about Islam and Malay culture than ever before... we are thrown together and have to sink or swim together."
If randomly selected by computer, youth must participate in the national initiative, or face a fine and jail term.
A government study in 2001 found that Malaysian young people were deeply divided by race and religion and held racial and religious prejudices against each other. The scheme aims at increasing the integration (forcibly?).