KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian peace educator has said that Malaysia could lead the world in multicultural education and at the same time promote a strong national identity. Peace educator Maya Soetoro-Ng said during her current visit to the Southeast Asian country that understanding identity, history and current events from different points of view could be a great multicultural learning process for the country. Soetoro-Ng is American President Barack Obama's half-sister. “Here in Malaysia, as well as in the US and Indonesia, people are thinking about identities and their connections — politically, economically or globally. “Encouraging this conversation around shared languages, arts and culture will help to foster empathy and increase one's sense of belonging to each other. “It will also increase the possibilities for collaboration, whether in schools, universities, non-profit or governments,” she said. She said Malaysia, with its multi-ethnic, racial and religious makeup, had a lot to teach the region. “One thing I really found delightful was the number of women represented in schools and universities. It's something that a lot of people and countries can take as an example (of a place) where women's voices are heard and their careers are supported. “I was also impressed by the dialogue within the Islamic community, where there was an intellectual emphasis on using Islam not only to reach back to the past, but thinking forward to develop a role for strong civil Islam in regional and world events.” Dialogue, she argued, without violence was an important theme she was discovering during her 6 day tour of the country, which has seen her meet students and education experts in the country.
