Citizenship Education and the Concept of ‘Nation-of-Intent’

Abstract

This article explores Citizenship Education in Malaysia as it is a product of social fragmentation that carries legal and sociological meanings. This article refers to the learning and teaching as an educational process to improve or achieve the aims inherent to the legal meaning. The objective of this article is to pull together citizenship and education as central themes, not legal but the sociological aspects, with ‘nation-of-intent’ as a conceptual framework. Nevertheless, the present effort of citizenship education in Malaysia is based on a particular form of ‘nation-of-intent’ (‘Bangsa’ Malaysia). The concept of citizenship and citizenship education in Malaysia is prompting only one form of ‘nation-of intent’ available in the country, whereas there are other nations as well, apparently. The presence of plurality of ‘nation-of-intent’ in contemporary Malaysia demonstrates the fact that dissenting voices are present and heard, within and without government. Therefore, in the context of different ‘nation-of-intent’s which exist, there is a need to explore and clarify citizenship education in diverse and democracy in Malaysia.