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KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — Reminding both Malays and non-Malays about racial politics would unconsciously motivate them to choose international schools over government ones for their children, an experiment has shown. Research firm Centre for Governance and Political Studies (Cent-GPS) recently conducted an experiment on 100 respondents, where half were “primed” or unconsciously reminded of racial politics, such as by subtly showing them a “keris” or news on a pro-Malay rally, before they answered survey questions. One of the survey questions asked was on respondents’ schooling preferences for their children, if all factors such as quality of education, distance from home and price were the same for all three choices: public schools, SJK (national-type) schools, and international schools. The survey found that Malays reacted negatively to subtle reminders of ethnocentrism and the country’s racial divide, with those choosing public schools dropping from 35.5 per cent to 22.6 per cent when primed, and those choosing SJK (national type schools) for their children falling from 42 per cent to 29.1 per cent. “After they were primed, only 10.1 per cent would send their kids to public schools, not confident in the type of syllabus that is handed out by leaders who echo ethnocentric rhetoric,” Cent-GPS said. After being primed on race politics, Malay respondents who would “encourage” their children to work in GLCs fell drastically from 35.5 per cent to 12.9 per cent, while those who would “allow” remained about the same at over 48 per cent. After reminders of the racial divide, Malay respondents who said they were “hesitant” doubled from 12.9 per cent to 25.8 per cent, while those who “refuse” to have their children work in GLCs shot up by more than four times from 3.1 per cent to 12.9 per cent. The report said the findings on the GLC question showed both Malay and non-Malay respondents responded negatively when reminded of race-based politics and policies in Malaysia. Research method For the study titled “The Priming Experiment: Reactions to the Question of Race”, Cent-GPS explained it had primed half of its 100 respondents by placing certain objects in a waiting room and testing centre to subtly remind them of Malaysia’s racial divide and race-based rhetoric, before they answered the survey questions. In summing up the study’s findings, Cent-GPS said it was “clear that reminders of Malaysia’s ethnocentrism benefits no one”, noting that its respondents were discouraged from having anything to do with Malaysia if reminded of the nation’s racial divide.