FIRST of all, let's take a quick geography lesson of Australia.

Australia is the smallest continental land mass or the planet's largest island. At 7,617,930 sq km, it comprises just five percent of the world's land area (149,450,000 sq km), yet it is the planet's sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, China, USA, and Brazil.

One-third of Australia is virtually uninhabited; another third is sparsely populated. The total population is quite small compared to the large land mass. Most of the cities are located in the east and southeast, with many inhabitants living on the coast.

Australia is also popularly known as 'Down Under' to outsiders. However, the term Down Under is a colloquialism referring to all things Australian, which is known as "the land Down Under" for its position in the southern hemisphere.

Despite the term's wide usage, it is rarely used by Australians themselves, many of whom regard it with some derision.

According to a report, the population of Australia in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 19,731,000, which placed it as number 52 in population among the 193 nations of the world then. Currently, Australia's population is estimated at 20.6 million.

The population of this continent down under comprises mostly migrants. A quarter of Australia's population are born overseas and out of 43 percent, at least one parent is born overseas. More than 4.1 million Australians master a second language besides English.

After the Second World War, around six million from over 200 countries all over the world chose Australia as their new home including 600,000 refugees. For a nation with only slightly more 20 million population, the number of refugees is indeed enormous.

First-hand experiences

Diversity in culture and language is of great significance to Australia - it brings long-term economic advantages to this nation, founded 106 years ago. Over 840 corporations worldwide have chosen Australia to establish their regional headquarters due to her rich multi-lingua human capital.

Indeed, Australia's rich multi-cultural diversities do not only reflect among her people or slogans to lure tourists but is actually reflected in government policies as well as enshrined in its national constitution.

I have the opportunity to experience first-hand this rich multi-cultural and mutli-religious variations at their best in Australian society while on a study tour to Adelaide last September.

On a visit to the Islamic College in the South Australian city, I can see how diversified the 400-student population of the college was.

The students were mostly migrants from Lebanon, Iraq, Singapore, Pakistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

College headmaster Robert Mayze (left) who led our group on a college tour informed us that students there represent 28 different cultural and language backgrounds and that no one group is dominant in the college.

Mayze, a Christian for 30 years before he converted to Islam, is managing the Islamic College as well as serving as its resident psychiatrist.

The college caters for those from nursery school level up to Level 12 which is equivalent to the Malaysian Higher School Certificate (STPM)).

Besides teaching compulsory syllabus outlined by the South Australia authorities, the college also teaches Islamic studies, Arabic language and conducts researches on Islamic civilization.

"The students are required to sit for the examinations of the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) and they also have to study their Quran topics and to fulfill their prayers accordingly," Mayze said.

Meanwhile, I was surprised over the remarks made by Mayze when he said that the Islamic College was funded by the government despite the strong anti-Muslim atmosphere in Australia after 911 and the Bali bombings where the majority of those killed were Australians.

The headmaster explained that for migrants whose language was not English, they can apply for assistance from the government to learn their mother tongue.

According to Mayze, the school system in Australia is divided into three types - national schools, independent schools and Catholic schools.

Fantastic school system

Funds for national schools were funded by the state government, Catholic schools were funded by the federal government, independent and other religious or language schools were funded by the state government through a regulatory body known as the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA).

"Parents have the choice to send their children to which school they want, and the government will support you financially in your school of choice.

"This is extraordinary fantastic in Australia, Which country in the world is like Australia education-wise?" Mayze asked.

He stressed that the majority of Australians do not oppose the government to fund independent schools and they don't think that the existence of these schools will threaten national unity.

"Australians believe strongly that the people have the right to get the type pf education they want, cultural-wise," he added.

Our media tour to Australia was organised by the Australia-Malaysia Institute (AMI) which was established by Australia government in April 2005 to strengthen people-to-people and institutional links with Malaysia and to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation between Australia and Malaysia.

AMI is based in Australia with its activities funded by existing resources of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The trip was aimed to educate the visiting members of the Malaysia media about Australia's strong bilateral links with Malaysia, her rich multi-cultural diversities and Islamic activities in the continent.

Part 2 on Monday

KUEK SER KUANG KENG was a member of the Malaysian media team who joined the AMI tour to Australia last September.