Creative Thinking Skills for a 21st Century Education System: Putting in Islamic perspectives

Abstract

Kuasa dan semangat cinta yang dikaitkan dengan keajaiban ayat-ayat  "cinta" memberi impak dan sumbangan besar  kepada dunia secara menyeluruh. Makalah ini mengkaji keperluan dan hasrat untuk membaca terjemahan kitab suci Al-Quran bagi mengetahui perlaksanaan menyeluruh dari aspek kebijaksaan, cara dakwah, perjalanan kehidupan Rasullulah SAW dalam menyemai cinta terhadap Allah SWT dan Ummah.  Cara gaya kehidupan Rasulullah SAW telah digariskan amal kebajikan di mana semangat cinta itu timbul dan seterusnya menyatukan umat Islam. Oleh yang demikian, kami menggariskan amalan dan perbuatan LUMU (Love: United Muslim Ummah) (Cinta: Penyatuan Umat Islam) untuk masyarakat Islam khususnya, di antaranya dalam aspek pendidikan dan ekonomi. Dalam perjalanan masa dan ruang untuk memperoleh keberkatan cinta Allah SWT dan sentiasa memperingati dengan berselawat memuji Rasullah SAW, umat Islam haruslah bersatu mengikut panduan Al-Quran dan sunnah Rasullulah SAW. Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk mencadangkan rangka kerja untuk menyatukan umat Islam, bukan hanya dengan kekuatan cinta, tetapi dengan memahami konsep cinta dalam Islam dan membina semangat cinta kepada kemanusiaan dan umat Islam khususnya bagi memenuhi keperluan Muslim.

Since her independence 61 years ago, Malaysia has progressed to become a modernized and developed nation. As a country, she has succeeded to bring up her own aspiration on how and what the country wants to achieve. However, in certain aspects, Malaysia seems to still rely heavily on ideas, thoughts and technology borrowed from other countries. This dependence, if persistent in the long run, will certainly bring many disadvantages. Malaysians, and Muslims from other countries, should think of smarter and more creative ways to create new sciences and technologies without depending on external parties. However, the effort to produce creative individuals is facing some various obstacles. One such obstacle is in the education system itself. This article attempts to discuss the obstacles in Malaysian education system. The examimation-oriented education system has been around for a while and indeed it is not an easy to change it. In Malaysia, the Ministry of Education steps in abolishing the PMR public examination and replacing it with the Assessment Test School-based Form Three (PT3) is an excellent effort in promoting Higher Orders Thinking Skills (HOTS) among the young people. Consequently, more aggressive measures should be taken in changing the education system to emphasize intrinsic motivation to produce new Islamic creative figures which can revitalize the Islamic civilization to the fullest.
Keywords: Creativity, Higher Order Thinking Skills, Education, Islamic Civilization