BACHELOR OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WITH HONOURS

JANUARY / 2020

OUMH1603

LEARNING SKILLS FOR 21ST CENTURY

MATRICULATION NO : 780313085341001

IDENTITY CARD NO. : 780313085341

TELEPHONE NO. : 017-2719990

E-MAIL : jasman78@oum.edu.my

LEARNING CENTRE : SRI RAMPAI LEARNING CENTRE

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Contents
HOW GCED BENEFITED SOCIETY IN RESOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE............................3
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
Objectives of The Assignment.....................................................................................................................4
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE.......................................................................................................................4
Haze............................................................................................................................................................4
The Asian Transboundary Agreement.........................................................................................................7
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION CONTRIBUTE TO SOLVE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.....8
Global Citizenship Education......................................................................................................................8
Global citizenship education enables learners to understand that different country has variety of culture,
different language and different acceptance towards resolving the issues...................................................8
GCED will encourage student and government to see all the differences as unique and accept all the
differences positively. Therefore, the more eyes looking towards an issue the fastest the decision-making
process will be.............................................................................................................................................9
GCED enables students to understand governance structure right and responsibility..................................9
GCED normally build the environment literacy skills amongst student......................................................9
GCED improves media and digital literacy,..............................................................................................10
GCED develop and apply critical skills for civic literacy,.........................................................................10
GCED develop attitudes of care and empathy for others and the environment and respect for diversity...10
GCED develop values of fairness and social justice, and skills to critically analyse inequalities supported
.................................................................................................................................................................. 11
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................12

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HOW GCED BENEFITED SOCIETY IN RESOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUE

INTRODUCTION
In the era when globalization takes place, the world becomes closer to each other and it promotes
higher demand of global interactions. Globalization let us meet people from different places with
own unique skills, talents, and personal advocacies. Therefore empowering 21 st Century skills is
needed to be competitive and to make sure we can stand and help to solve world problem
without boundaries.

Global Citizenship Education (GCED) is a transformative education which is important

in the 21st Century. Global Citizenship Education gives us a profound understanding that we are
tied together as citizens of the global community, and that our challenges are interconnected.”
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General’ UNESCO (2014). GCED also give learners opportunities
and competencies to realize their right and obligations to promote a better world. Global
citizenship education also helps us as a student to prepare for the challenges of the 21st Century.
School leaders are the one who supposed to have a variety of 21st-century skills and
competencies in order to be role model and foster deep learning among student.

A characteristic of a Global citizen is someone who knows that the world is

interconnected. They know that the world economy, politics, social and environment are
interconnected with each other. A global citizen also a people who have skills in consultation,
they are able to learn new things and innovate, they are digitally literate, they have metacognitive
skills, they have the ability to solve the problem as well as they have career and life skills.

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 GCED has already been used in the entire world amongst student in order to cope with 21st-
century challenges. Mainstreaming GCED in Malaysia would also require students to understand
that most of the local issues affecting the country are also global issues, hence ‘local’ awareness
must be expanded to include what is happening elsewhere in the world. Ministry of Education
(2019) MoE (School Leadership and SDG 4.7: The Malaysian Experience) 26 June 2019. As we
can see there are so many issues happening locally and at the same time, it becomes the world
issues especially in the developing country. The lesson and knowledge we learn in the classroom
are no more enough and yet we need to respond to global in order to compete. By using GCED it
let us be adaptive, responsive and tolerance towards what happening internationally.

Objectives of The Assignment

 To identify the global environmental issues that affect Malaysia.
 To understand the importance of gced in solving the related issues and contribute
peacefull world.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE

There are a few environmental issues arise which need global attention and cooperation to solve.
For examples like the plastic waste issue, global warming, toxic waste issue and many more.
However, haze causing air pollution is the worrying issue in Malaysia as well as ASEAN and yet
it remains unresolved even there is government intervention.

Haze
Each and almost every year haze is a common issue not only Malaysia but whole ASEAN.
The haze is nearly like an annual occurrence in some ASEAN nations. Dangerous levels of haze
usually at it peaks during the dry season from June to September when the southwest monsoon is
in progress. Southwest monsoon winds shift the haze from Sumatra, Indonesia towards the
Malay Peninsula and Singapore, sometimes creating a thick haze that can last for weeks.
(Wikipedia)

Haze is an environmental crisis which already starts and hit Southeast Asia since the late
1990s. The air pollution becomes worse in 2019. (Berita Harian,2019) and seen uncontrolled
even there is a multilateral agreement between ASEAN about this problem. As we know, the

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crisis was mainly caused by land clearing for agricultural purposes via open burning forest on the
Indonesian island especially in Sumatra. Based on the reported and supported by satellite images
of the forest fire it is confirmed by the presence of a few hot spots throughout Kalimantan
Borneo, Sumatra, with an estimated 45,000 square kilometers of forest and land burnt. Malaysia,
Singapore Thailand and Brunei were particularly badly affected by the haze caused by the
Indonesian forest fire in Sumatra. (Greenpeace 2019).

However lately this environmental problem is seen unsolved and becoming worst until it
posed health risks. Indonesian free forest fire normally a major contributor towards Malaysian
haze. The west coast of Peninsular Malaysia continues to be suffocated by the haze, with 25
locations registering “unhealthy” Air Pollutant Index (API) (Jabatan Alam Sekitar, 2019). The
numbers are expected to rise as the day progresses. However last year Australian forest fire due
to global warming and climate change become new and another contributor to this environmental
problem. (New Straits Times - September 22, 2019).

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 Pollution from Indonesia’s 2015 fire and haze crisis was estimated by modelling carried out
caused more than 100,000 premature deaths across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Haze
causing lung cancer (Yong Song 2014). Haze is an environmental problem that normally comes
from Sumatra, Indonesia. The motive of fires is clearing and draining of forest and peatland for
agriculture and industrial plantations. Transboundary haze from these fires, particularly from
sources in Sumatra and Kalimantan and it reached Singapore and Malaysia during September
2019, and it worsens the air quality index. Many forests are burned are including oil palm and
pulp and paper plantations. However, the some of the plantation companies that had fired on
their land are linked to Singapore and Malaysia groups. Groups with links to Malaysia which had
fired on their land include IOI, Genting, and KLK. Those linked to Singapore include Bumitama
and Musim Mas. However, all these companies were still under investigation.

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The Asian Transboundary Agreement
The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) is a legal agreement
signed in 2002 by the member states of the ASEAN to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia
(ASEAN,2012). Singapore, which along with Malaysia is one of the two countries most severely
affected by transboundary haze originating in Indonesia, has gone further than other signatories
to the AATHP by raising the issue at the United Nations in 2006. Singapore has also passed into
force its own enabling legislation in 2014. The Singapore Transboundary Haze Pollution Act
(THPA), that criminalizes conduct which causes or contributes to haze pollution in the country.
(Greenpeace 2019).

There are so many episodes of haze happen each year despite the adoption of the AATHP
highlighted on Indonesian failure to comply with all the treaty. Finally, in 2016, ASEAN
Member State Ministers responsible for environment, land, forest fires and haze reviewed the
implementation of the AATHP. They issued a statement in which they require cooperation and
regional efforts to effectively implement the AATHP to achieve a Haze-Free ASEAN by 2020.
Even at the end of 2019, the AATHP has failed to achieve that goal. One problem with enforcing
the AATHP stems from ‘the ASEAN way’ of doing things which requires a consensus-based
approach and upholds the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of member states. In
practice, this means politeness, non-confrontational approaches, behind-closed-door discussions,
and informal and non-legalistic procedures.

The Indonesian Government has refused for a suggestion by the Malaysian and Singapore
Government to help within the fire-fighting during the transboundary haze crises which led to the
frustration of Malaysian and Singapore leaders (ASEAN 2019). Indonesia’s Greenpeace reveals
that a lot of the businesses related to fires in Indonesia have links to either Singapore or
Malaysia. Yet despite Singapore’s much-vaunted Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, they
sanctioned all company that contributes to the hearth. In September 2019 a Singapore send a
diplomatic note to Indonesia, expressing concerns” about the fires and haze, but they made no
references to require any action. Indonesia has also declined to help Singapore efforts to use
sanctions towards the corporate who become involved with the project, they are doing not
disclose any information with regards to concession maps and limits which might enable

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Singapore authorities to work out which companies are liable for fires and transboundary haze.
(ASEAN,2019)

Other than that, Malaysia also response to act over the root causes of the fires has been even
more silent. The country’s Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok has expressed concern about
the Indonesian government sealing Malaysian-owned concession named Malaysian companies
are among the foremost respected feather palm cultivation. So, they think Indonesian just giving
accusation. Therefore, the decision and action remain unsolved and the haze problem still on the
negotiation process. (Greenpeace Indonesia, 2019)

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION CONTRIBUTE TO SOLVE ENVIRONMENTAL

ISSUES

Global Citizenship Education

Citizenship may be a status and identity supported belonging to and participation within the
political domain of a nation, also as on the civil and socio-economic domains within which
individuals relate to one another and their society. In most countries, citizens are expected to
fulfil various duties, responsibilities and loyalties, including participating in political processes
and undertaking economic, social and cultural roles according to accepted norms, laws and
regulations. Nurturing the values, attitudes and skills of ‘citizenship’ is, therefore, a common
goal of modern education systems.

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Global citizenship education enables learners to understand that different country has variety of
culture, different language and different acceptance towards resolving the issues.

GCED helps us to accept that different culture brings a different solution for the issues that
arise. Sometimes the ideas they bring in seem ridiculous to other countries. (UNESCO,2014)
This is because of how they accept the seriousness of the problem. For example, Indonesia sees
the haze issues as a drawback that need to face in order to increase their economy from
agriculture, but Malaysia and Singapore see it leads towards serious health issues. Normally, a
few steps of negotiation is needed in order to have mutual understanding and solving the
problem. In Malaysia, normally ASEAN memorandum of understanding helps in solving health
issues.

A different country usually has its own language however which become a barrier for
another to communicate especially in high culture country like Japan, Indonesian. Therefore, by
GCED, people will aware of this situation and will develop their own 21st-century skill to make
sure the environmental problem can be solved.

Different acceptance of environmental issues. GCED helps the learner to be prepared

with this condition. GCED improved society digital literacy rate and skills so they can compare
the reason that different country looks to the problem occurs. As an example, haze normally
accepted as normal air pollution in Europe its cause by transportation waste but in Malaysia, it is
because of our neighboring country forest burning fire.

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 GCED will encourage student and government to see all the differences as unique and
accept all the differences positively. Therefore, the more eyes looking towards an issue the
fastest the decision-making process will be.

GCED enables students to understand governance structure right and responsibility.

GCED is an opportunity for student broader their understanding of the different country entire
world. (UNESCO,2014) by the help of technology and globalization all the information can find
easier anywhere. (EuExpert) The student also will found the cross-culture, governance structure
during all the readings and understanding. Understanding governance structure right and
responsibility is very important especially in solving haze issues that involved many countries at
the same time. Understanding the governance structure and responsibility will help to cater haze
problem in smooth a. Learners also will found that every country has its own responsibility to
reduce the haze problem.

GCED normally build the environment literacy skills amongst student.

The student will have the same goals in the entire world when they see the global as one. So they
will critically think about the ideas of a solution as a whole in order to harmonize the ecosystem
and improve the environmental efficiencies. For example, GCED encourages student and
researcher to come up with the papers that can contribute towards government action. For
example, people’s complaint and research bring government action by voice up the issues in
ASEAN committee. An environmental problem like the haze is not a small issue. Therefore, the
government to take some action and join a few agreements in order to reduce pollution. As
ASEAN initiatives the make made an agreement between them in order to reduce the haze
problems. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution is a legally binding
environmental agreement signed in 2002 by the member states of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia. (ASEAN). The Agreement recognizes
that transboundary haze pollution which ends up from the land and/or forest fires should be
mitigated through concerted national efforts and international co-operation.

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GCED improves media and digital literacy,
Using technology in GCED will helps the communication become faster. Using technology in
education will improves the skills of handling it. The information and update can be share easily
by using the internet and social media. Using internet & media really benefited in creating
awareness about the issues . For example , during the haze 2019, we can see all people around
the world are sharing about Sumatra forest fire causes bad haze in ASEAN history (New Straits
Time,2019) .

GCED develop and apply critical skills for civic literacy,

In GCED critical thinking is needed and critical inquiry is a must. (EuExpert,2019) By the help
of information technology, the ideas and recommendation will be collected fast. Therefore,
social responsibility recognizes, and we can use to examine beliefs and values and how they
influence political and contribute towards the decision-making process. During haze 2019
collective information gathered from the student by looking at a few researches as well as media.

GCED develop attitudes of care and empathy for others and the environment and respect for
diversity.
The challenges for GCED is to prepare the student with a variety of skills in order for them to
compete globally. (EuExpert ,2019) however, when we work together as global we also created
positive characteristic such as care and empathy for others. GCED would produce a student who
loves the environment always thinks about others comfort ness especially our neighboring
country. Like what happened in 2019, they see the government of Singapore & Malaysia using
the ASEAN agreement to advice Indonesia to control their forest burning. It is because the haze
gives both country citizen bad health risk.

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GCED develop values of fairness and social justice, and skills to critically analyse inequalities
supported gender, socio-economic status, culture, religion, age and other issues. GCED will let
everyone have a guide to search for knowledge. They have an equal right to assess any
information and contribute their response toward an issue arise globally.

Lastly, GCED will let the student participate and contribute to contemporary global issues at
local and engaged with as well as becoming more responsible and responsive in global citizens.

CONCLUSION
In Malaysia, haze becoming one of the hazardous environmental issues that effecting citizens
health. The worse haze cases in Malaysia reported in 2019. Haze issue remains unsolved due to
ownership issues that need all country government intervention since the ownership of the farms
is own by the company based on Malaysia and Singapore. Even there is ASEAN transboundary
haze agreement, but the problem remains the same. Hopefully by having GCED in the 21st
Century variety recommendation from the student can be collected and could help the
government to solve the issue.

In this study, we found a few benefits of GCED mostly give impact on human personal skill and
characteristic. GCED also benefits the environment. Therefore, we can conclude that GCED
encourages the student to be competitive and cooperative in their field to solve certain issues.
GCED also simplify life but wider knowledge. It is a big hope that every country will apply the
GCED in order to make the knowledge transfers easier, the communication will be effective, and
the decision-making time will be shorter.

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REFERENCES

2019. Greenpeace Indonesia .Retrieved from

https://www.greenpeace.org/southeastasia/press/3221/asean-haze-2019-the-battle-of-liability/

2019 . Europian . Retrieved from https://euexperts.eu/2019/02/19/global-citizenship-education-

for-a-new-century/

2019. GCED. Retrieved from https://teams.unesco.org/

26 JUNE 2019.Ministry of Education.(School Leadership and SDG 4.7: The Malaysian

Experience) Retrieved from https://www.gced-compass.com/

13 SEPTEMBER 2019. Haze update: Over 4,000 hotspots detected in Indonesia. Retrieved from
https://www.nst.com.my/world/2019/09/521585/haze-update-over-4000-hotspots-detected-
indonesia

UNESCO (2014). Global citizenship education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st
century. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227729

2019.ASEAN Transboundry haze act. Retrieved from http://haze.asean.org/

2018. United Nation.Connection between Global Citizenship Education and the SDGs will be
explored during Forum at UN Headquarters. Retrieved from https://academicimpact.un.org/ 2018

3 Dimension Conceptual of Global Citizenship Education https://youtu.be/1GpIUoRoKCo

Learning Skills 21st Century First Edition December 2019 . Open University Malaysia

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