Interlok: NIAT’s response to Deputy Prime Minister

Press Statements

CPI introduction

We are reproducing the statement below which appeared in the NIAT website yesterday in response to the most recent statement by the Minister of Education Muhyiddin Yassin on the Interlok school book controversy.

Readers are encouraged to go directly to the NIAT website for fuller coverage of the issue.

NIAT Statement

In response to recent reckless, irresponsible and misleading statement by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, NIAT Chairman Dato' Haji Thasleem says that "NIAT would not react but, will respond firmly".

DPM in his statement yesterday stated that "the government would not bow to pressure over the Interlok novel as the issue had been resolved and the final decision already made, raising of the issue again to gain support was irresponsible and ill-intended".

The NIAT chairman asks, "who is actually irresponsible and ill-intended?" He further clarifies that the DPM's stand on this issue is very ironical and does not reflect him as a leader of multi-ethnic nation like Malaysia.

He says, NIAT would not react to his reckless, irresponsible and misleading statement but will respond factually to reaffirm NIAT's firm stand from the beginning to remove INTERLOK from SPM syllabus and replace with a literature book from other zones likeKembara Amira from zone 1 or Sutera Dalam Lukisan from zone 3.

This is in line with NIAT's research findings that Interlok cannot be continued its use in schools as compulsory text book for SPM BM paper 2 due to following reasons:

• Interlok is against Islamic teachings and every other religious teachings

• Interlok is against educational guidelines, textbook guidelines and National Educational Policy

• Interlok is against all races in Malaysia including Malay, Chinese & Indians

• Interlok is against UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

• Interlok is against the 1Malaysia concept of our beloved Prime Minister to foster national unity

NIAT also endorse the recent evidence found by the Chinese NGOs that

Interlok is also against racial harmony in Malaysia with its embedded Biro Tata Negara principles and Malay Supremacy ideology, making the novel part of the process to indoctrinate our youth.

According to NIAT, these new findings by the Chinese NGOs does not in any way deviate from NIAT's own five earlier findings but in fact they further enhance NIAT's claims on why this book must not be a compulsory book in the country’s mainstream education system.

NIAT demands an explanation from DPM on why till to date there is no explanations nor any refutation from him on the above findings. "Does he think being the No.2 leader of the country he is not required to give any explanation to reasonable questions from concerned citizens?" Hj. Thasleem wondered.

He adds that the DPM is solely responsible for racial tensions and disharmony that he has been created by introducing this novel to mainstream education and now though his handling of the issue in an unscrupulous manner.

The DPM must understand that NIAT is from the very beginning and all the way fully supports the efforts made by our beloved Prime Minister Datuk Sri Najib Tun Razak for national Integration and harmony among all races in this country.

Hj. Thasleem says "We are proud to follow in the PM's foot steps in his 1Malaysia concept but the DPM is destroying all the efforts of our PM for 1Malaysia, so we are sure now that DPM is against 1Malaysia".