Queen defends stand on Jawi, says everyone can appreciate it

Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

PETALING JAYA: The queen today defended her remarks that it will be a shame if the Malays do not know how to write in Jawi, amid controversy over a congress scheduled to be held on Dec 28 by Chinese educationist group Dong Zong to discuss the introduction of Jawi in vernacular schools.

Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah said in a Twitter post that she was simply appreciating the beauty of Jawi and the Islamic arts, in replying to a critic who had said her remarks might lead to more racial arguments.

“One does not have to be Muslim to appreciate it,” she said, adding that there were Muslims who were not Malay and Malays who were not Muslims.

“In Islam, we are not bounded by race but by our belief and faith in Allah (or God),” she said.

In a previous tweet, she had said it would be a shame if the Malays did not learn how to write in Jawi. Similarly, she said it would also be a shame if the Chinese did not learn how to write in Mandarin or if Indians did not learn how to write in Tamil.

“ABC (Roman alphabets) is universal and global, but we need to know how to write in our own ways too… adds to our knowledge, this will not be a disadvantage,” she had written.

A critic then replied that her statement might spark racial arguments, adding that Roman alphabets, Tamil, Mandarin and Jawi were cultural identities that should not be forced onto others.

The Chinese Organisations’ Congress will be held to discuss and forward proposals to the government on the teaching of Jawi script in vernacular schools starting next year.

The congress follows a Cabinet decision that the Jawi script will be taught optionally in vernacular schools as long as more than 50% of the members of the parent-teacher associations agree. - FMT