1. Introduction: The Needs of the 21st Century Thinking Skills
The educational system in Malaysia has come a long way from being a diversified non-formal system to a unified
formal and forward-looking system. This evolution has taken place within a complete historical and multi-racial
context. At times the country’s educational goals and objectives have been just a pale imitation of the British school
curriculum. The Razak Report (1956) provided a turning point in the history of the Malaysian educational system.
Its recommendations became the catalyst to a comprehensive system of education designed to meet the current and
future demands of a developing country where the overriding concern was to create a unified education for all