PETALING JAYA: Sunday’s Malay Dignity Congress could see rival Malay parties coming together to push for single-stream education, says Malay politics observer Kamarul Zaman Yusoff.
Kamarul said the increasing demand among Malays for an education system without vernacular schools might translate into a proposed resolution at the meeting, which will be attended by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has also agreed to attend the congress.
Kamarul said all three major Malay-based parties – PPBM, Umno and PAS – are for single-stream education but said the other Malay groups attending the meeting might not be.
Calls for single-stream education in the national language have caused some tension between Malays on one side and Chinese and Indian educationists on the other.
If the congress were to pass such a resolution, there might be a stir among the public, Kamarul said.
Azmi Hassan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said Mahathir and Hadi might use the occasion to try to strengthen Malay support for their respective parties.
“There is a perception among Malays that Pakatan Harapan is not doing enough for them and Mahathir may want to put across the point that the coalition is with the Malays,” he said. “And Hadi may make some demands.”
But he said it was also possible that Hadi would show support for the prime minister because “he and PAS believe Mahathir is good for Malaysia.”
Political analyst Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said it would be interesting to see how Mahathir and Hadi would interact since both were fighting for Malay support.
Zainal Kling, who is behind the congress, said organisers were finalising the list of proposed resolutions and might table five or six.
“Yes, education is one of them, but we are still finalising the list,” he said, without giving details.
The gathering will be held at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam. - FMT
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