PAKATAN Harapan won’t emerge from the khat controversy unscathed as how the government mishandled the whole issue has left a bad taste in the mouths of non-Muslims, its core supporters, said political analysts.
PH can’t U-turn on this policy as it will lose more support among Malay-Muslims, they said.
But whichever way the government goes, the disenchantment the issue has caused will still carry over to the next elections, said political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat.
“This is even if measures are done to appease parents who send their children to vernacular schools,” he said.
Universiti Malaya political scientist Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said a policy reversal now would offer the strongest proof to its critics that the PH ruling coalition is being led by the Chinese-majority DAP, whose members oppose the move.
And the biggest loser will be DAP, said Prof James Chin of the University of Tasmania (UTAS).
DAP is made up of the Chinese and Tamil educators and parents opposed to including a section on khat in the textbooks.
The opposition to khat is driven by deep suspicions that Education Minister Mazlee Malik is attempting to spread Islam to non-Muslims by introducing a script that has been inextricably linked to the Muslim faith.
“There is a lot of suspicion that Dr Mazlee and the Education Ministry are trying to Islamise schoolchildren,” said Chin, who runs UTAS’ Asia Institute.
“DAP is now caught up in the MCA scenario,” said Chin, referring to the Chinese party of former ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN), which enjoyed solid support from the community since Merdeka.
One of the main reasons Chinese voters started ditching MCA since the 2008 election was because they felt the former did not stand up to its Malay nationalist political ally Umno, said Chin.
“DAP used to blame MCA for not standing up to Umno over Islamisation and now DAP is facing exactly the same accusation,” said Chin.
“The issue is now so politicised that I doubt there can be a compromise.”
Grassroots revolt
Starting next year, primary four pupils in all vernacular schools will get Bahasa Melayu textbooks with six pages that will introduce them to “khat” or Islamic calligraphy.
The lessons are brief and contain exercises for only five words and terms which must be written out in Jawi or Arabic letters that have been used for centuries as the writing script for Malay.
Pupils will not be tested on whether they master the lessons but this has elicited a storm of protests from vernacular school administrators and parents.
The suspicion that it is a form of Islamisation while experts have shown that Jawi is a religion-neutral script.
The opposition should be seen in the context of a more important policy failure by the PH government – the recognition of the United Examination Certificate (UEC), said Wong of the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia (JCI).
While campaigning for the 14th general election, PH promised that public universities would recognise the UEC, a school graduation certificate used by independent Chinese secondary schools.
“DAP is severely damaged already by the grassroots revolt. They feel that the status quo has been changed at the non-Muslims’ disadvantage,” said Wong, a JCI senior fellow.
“Before the UEC is recognised, Chinese and Tamil schoolchildren are required to learn Jawi. Many Chinese feel that they have been taken for a ride after voting solidly for PH,” said Wong.
Wong said the ministry would have faced less resistance if it had balanced out the plan by also teaching Chinese and Tamil calligraphy to national primary school pupils.
Instead, it came out with a statement that gave the impression that the government is pushing through the subject despite all the opposition.
Prime Minister and PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad was also seen as bulldozing the move.
Losing seats
“Even if this episode is over, the bad after taste will dampen Chinese voters’ enthusiasm in GE15,” said Wong.
This will cost marginal seats not only for DAP, but PKR, Amanah and Bersatu, its partners in PH, he added.
“Many are reading Dr Mahathir’s latest non-negotiable stand as a signal that Pakatan or at least Bersatu is very confident of Malay support and that Chinese support can be taken for granted.”
But if PH capitulates to khat’s detractors, it will be the biggest gift the coalition hands to its political rivals Umno and PAS.
“Dr Mahathir needs to increase Malay support and if this policy fails, more Malays who are on the fence and who voted for Pakatan in GE14 will return to BN,” said Awang Azman of UM.
JCI’s Wong warns that the fallout from khat could make Pakatan easily lose more than the 29 marginal seats that a think-tank, Institute Darul Ehsan projected.
This is especially if PH can’t get the solid backing of the 7.8 million voters added after the voting age was lowered to 18.
“The six pages of calligraphy exercises and the one page MoE statement may go down in history as the seven pages with the strongest electoral impact in Malaysian history,” Wong said.
Guan Eng blames furore over khat on Chinese daily’s fear-mongering
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has blamed Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Daily for stirring up the Chinese community over the introduction of Jawi and khat in vernacular schools.
The daily was the first to report the Education Ministry’s plan to make the two subjects a part of the Year Four Bahasa Melayu syllabus next year.
“On my return home after four days overseas, I was faced with the unhappiness of the non-Malay community following Sin Chew Jit Poh’s report that the Standard 4 Bahasa Malaysia textbook in Chinese and Tamil schools would include seni khat,” Lim said on Facebook late last night.
“Even though seni khat or Jawi is the source of the language of Bahasa Malaysia, the news report has successfully raised fears that the character and identity of the Chinese and Tamil schools will be affected.”
Lim posted his message tonight during a meeting of DAP elected representatives tonight at party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting was called after party members appeared split over the issue.
Party leaders such as Lim Kit Siang, Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching and Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong have stood by the Pakatan Harapan government but grassroots members have raised objections to the plan.
“I am listening to the views of party elected representatives, community activists and I have also met the prime minister and education minister today.
“Will issue a formal statement later,” he said.
On Sunday, a group of DAP assemblymen and grassroots leaders issued a statement urging the Education Ministry to scrap the plan to teach khat and Jawi in verncular schools.
They said the government should consult the to the grouses of various quarters before and withdraw plans to include such modules in Mandarin textbooks.
They said the ministry should consult the people before making such a move.
“We believe that in the wake of disagreement from various quarters in society, the ministry should retract, discuss and then decide on whether to go ahead with the plan,” they said in the statement.
Among the assemblymen who signed the statement are Chow Yu Hui (Tras), Chiong Yoke Kong (Tanah Rata), Chong Zhe Min (Keranji), Lee Chin Chen (Bilut), Tan Hong Pin (Skudai), Ee Chin Li (Tangkak), Cheo Yee How (Perling), Yeo Tung Siong (Pekan Nenas), Ng Yak Howe (Bentayan), Chew Peck Choo (Yong Peng), Cheah Pou Hian (Jelapang), Violet Yong (Pending), Leong Yu Man (Triang) and Leong Cheok Keng (Malim Mawar).
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com
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