Liong Sik and Keng Yaik should disabuse Mahathir at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow that those who oppose the Vision School concept are extremists, anti-national and traitors

(Penang, Tuesday): MCA President  Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong Sik and the Gerakan President Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik should disabuse the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow that those who oppose the Vision School concept are extremists, anti-national and traitors.

The various  assurances by Barisan Nasional leaders, especially Liong Sik, after the Barisan Nasional defeat in the Lunas by-election that there would be no forced implementation of the  Vision School concept becomes meaningless with the repeated attacks on the Chinese educationists and
supporters of Chinese education  for their rejection of the Vision School concept.

Yesterday, for instance,  Mahathir repeated his criticism of  Chinese educationists as "extremists" with the serious allegation that they are "hindering the process of uniting the various races in Malaysia" in rejecting the Vision School concept, implying that those who oppose the Vision School concept are extremists, anti-national and traitors to the process of national integration process.

Liong Sik and Keng Yaik should make clear whether MCA and Gerakan agree and support the Prime Minister’s statements that

• "the Chinese education extremists formed only a small group but they had acted as though they wanted to threaten the government";
• that "members of this group were acting as though they did not acknowledge themselves as Malaysian citizens and the need for them to mix with Malaysians of other races"; and
• that they  "want everything to be segregated...Chinese schools to be separated from other schools to the extent of Chinese schools becoming foreign schools and not schools within Malaysia".

I find the statement by Mahathir that "Chinese schools in Malaysia are Malaysian schools even though they use Chinese as the medium of instruction" most shocking and unbelievable.

Mahathir’s statement would be completely acceptable if he had stated it as a truism, as the Chinese schools in Malaysia have become fully Malaysianised  in character and orientation and completely different from Chinese schools in other countries, including China and Taiwan.

What is shocking and unbelievable is that Mahathir is not making this statement as a truism but to question  the Malaysian character and identity of the Chinese schools in Malaysia - and it is doubly shocking that such an issue is being raised after 43 years of nationhood and by one who was
formerly the  Education Minister who had chaired the Education Review Cabinet Committee.

Is there any basis to the serious allegation or insinuation that the Chinese schools in Malaysia are being operated as if they are "foreign schools" in the country, although there are over 60,000 non-Chinese in the Chinese primary schools.

How could this be when the government of Malaysia had been run by the same coalitition since Independence in the past 43 years?

This is the time for  MCA and Gerakan Ministers to make it clear whether they agree that the Chinese schools in Malaysia are being run like "foreign schools" and that those who oppose the Vision School concept are extremists, anti-national and traitors, and if not, to convince the Cabinet
tomorrow to come out with a policy statement to clear the air.

In the fifties and sixties, Chinese schools were accused as being the "hotbeds" breeding anti-national elements like secret society elements and communists, and it would be most tragic that the country is thrown back to that era of intolerant  and obscurantist communal politics.

UMNO is facing a grave crisis of survival as highlighted by an article in UMNO-owned and controlled Berita Harian last Saturday, which estimated that 55 per cent of the Malay voters in the country dislike (bencikan) UMNO, reaching almost 85 per cent among students and lecturers in higher education institutions.

UMNO’s survival lies in its preparedness to heed the voice of Malays and Malaysians for the restoration of justice, freedom, demoracy and good governance and not a throwback to intolerant and obscurantist communal politics.
 

(5/12/2000)