Ka Siong's quit offer is as "insincere" as Shahrizat's: He should resign on the spot

No jeering and hurling abuse won't be able to resolve the issue of Chinese primary school teachers. But has the MCA been able to do so for the past 5 decades?

This then is why there is now jeering and hurling of abuse - the noise is a wake-up call by the people but it appears that MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong, who offered to resign provided it could help resolve the incident, might be more concerned about his "wounded pride" than to set things right.

"Wee's offer to resign is the height of insincerity. Since he and MCA have not been able to resolve such a long-standing issue, he should straightaway resign, why put in the 'if-it-helps' caveat. Just resign and take responsibility for his and MCA's failure to get the system right after so many years of being given the chance to do so by the people," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"The MCA leadership including Chua Soi Lek should also resign for failing to keep their promises to the Chinese voters. So don't come and grandstand and pretend to be noble when it is obvious Ka Siong would never resign in 100 years. If he is sincere, he should do so straightaway and let someone else more capable take on the job. The same goes for MCA. If MCA canot do more for the Chinese, they should quit the BN."

False offer to quit, like Shahrizat

Ka Siong became the butt of jokes around town since Sunday after he was literally chased away from the Dong Zong or United Chinese School Committees Association rally on Sunday. Nearly 10,000 people - mostly ordinary Chiese folk, parents and educators - had gathered to protest the shortage of Chinese primary school teachers, a situation which Dong Zong Chief Yap Sin Tian accused the Ministry of Education of manipulating.

"We see so many people from all over the country coming to this rally. This is because we are protesting the unfair policies of the Education Ministry all these years. Over the past months we have reported to the ministry the seriousness of the situation and asked for action, but until the matter remains unsolved,” Yap told the crowd on Sunday.

When Ka Siong arrived, the crowd booed and heckled him relentlessly. “I can’t say I felt threatened but it was a rude shock to me. Suddenly people come and point at you and want to punch you. I am saddened. We are not hooligans. We are a civilised society,” Ka Siong later told a press conference on Sunday.

Then at a dinner in Malacca later on Sunday night, Ka Siong grandly offered to quit but made sure he attached a condition. It immediately prompted accusations that Ka Siong was doing a "Shahrizat on the people".

“And if stepping down would solve this issue once and for all, I, Wee Ka Siong would immediately do so,” the Star quoted Ka Siong as saying at the MCA Malacca dinner.

Shahrizat Jalil, the embattled Women's minister, had earlier this month announced her decision to quit on April 8. However, she was scolded for being insincere and accused of trying to deceive the people as her Senator-ship would expire on April 8 and she would automatically no longer be a minister.

A landmark rally for the Malaysian Chinese

Meanwhile, the reaction from the Chinese community - often perceived as politically timid - is telling and many liken it to the 2007 Hindraf rally, where nearly 30,000 Malaysians -mostly Indians - protested the marginalization of their community.

"If MCA and UMNO wnat to ignore it, it's their business. But this a very serious indicator, a landmark rally for the Malaysian Chinese. And when it is  taken together with the anti-Lynas protest in Kuantan, it shows our society has changed. They want to see results, not empty talk and nowadays they are prepared to stand up for their rights not like before," said Tian.

At Kuantan, more than 20,000 people from all over the nation had gathered to protest the Lynas rare earth plant that Prime Minister Najib Razak had given the go-ahead to be sited in Gebeng, despite the risks of radioactive contamination as had happened in Bukit Merah in the 1980s.

Too many empty promises

On Thursday, Najib had announced that more Mandarin-speaking teachers will be trained to solve the shortage but Dong Zong still proceeded with the rally at its Kajang headquarters. The prime minister had also promised the government was committed to resolving the problem and had appointed Wee to speak to Chinese educationist groups to come up with a solution.

However, his words were disregarded as frivolous and mere "empty promises" to avert the potentially embarrassing protest. Just a week ago, Najib was slammed by Indian groups and accused of hypocrisy when he announced that 100 top Indian students will get Federal Government scholarships every year to pursue Master’s and Doctorate programmes provided that they get First Class Honours Degrees at the Bachelors level.

According to Indian educators, a First Class Honours Degree at the Bachelors level is not the criteria at any university in the world to pursue Masters or Doctorate Programme. So, why raise the bar that high for only Indian students?

Malaysia has a two tiered education system that has often been criticized as being unfair and tilted towards the Malay students, who every year garner the lion's share of all scholarships and grants. In the Dong Zong protest, it was highlighted that the Education ministry had staffed positions in the Chinese primary schools with non-Chinese teachers, a move that drew anger because it was perceived to be another example of how the UMNO-led government was always grabbing at the rights of the other races to fulfill their political motives of racial favoritism.

Malaysia Chronicle