Voting trend had gone beyond race, MIC tells UiTM

While Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) pro-chancellor Abdul Rahman Arshad wants Chinese and Indian vernacular schools to be wiped out, the MIC today slammed such views as it says that the 13th general election shows Chinese-educated and Malay-educated citizens had voted beyond racial lines.

MIC Youth chief T Mohan (right), in condemning Abdul Rahman's call yesterday, said the party objects to what Abdul Rahman had said, as the voting trend of the non-Malays do not have any links to national unity, if it is solely based on the schools that they attend to.

"In the 13th general election, we find that although many Chinese may have received their education in Chinese vernacular schools, they had still voted for PAS candidates. 

"Similarly for Malays in the urban areas, they voted for non-Malays from PKR and DAP.

"This clearly shows that the voting trend had bypassed the racial and religious boundaries. Although DAP and PAS may be seen fighting with each other on the implementation of hudud, it does not affect the non-Malays to vote for PAS," he said.

Hence, Mohan said, calls by certain quarters - including Abdul Rahman (left) - for vernacular schools to be abolished to strengthen national unity is incorrect, and should not be a topic for discussion.

In fact, the MIC Youth chief added, all mainstream media should cease using racial issues and unity so as to make gains politically.

"The government should introduce brave liberal policies if they want to capture the non-Malay votes and also the urban Malay voters," he said, adding that these include a change in several government policies.

These included:

• Better education opportunities that offer scholarships and intakes in matriculation to non-Malays;

• Better job opportunities in the public sector and government-linked corporations (GLCs); and

• Opportunities to get contracts from the government and GLCs.

Abdul Rahman had called for the establishment of a single stream school to strengthen national unity, along with the abolition of vernacular Chinese and Tamil schools.

The don claimed that despite 57 years of independence, racism has only thickened in Malaysia.