PETALING JAYA, Nov 25 — Chinese education group Dong Jiao Zong and Chinese-based NGOs want the state branches of the Chinese School Management Board Association to hold a meeting and refuse the implementation of Jawi script lessons in their vernacular schools.
Vernacular paper Sin Chew Daily reported Dong Jiao Zong president Tan Tai Kim saying the organisation would submit a memorandum to the Education Ministry next week, insisting on the inclusion of school boards in the decision-making process on the introduction of Jawi.
“Our joint meeting is to reiterate our stance. We will not waiver and will continue to push for our inclusion as part of decision making (on the teaching of Jawi),” Tan was quoted saying in a consensus decision by Dong Jiao Zong and Chinese NGOs yesterday.
The NGOs were named as Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Hua Zhong) and United Chinese School Teachers Association of Malaysia (Jiao Zong).
Apart from the memorandum submission, the other consensus point was Dong Jiao Zong’s dissatisfaction and concern that the ministry has yet to list vernacular school boards as a decision-making unit on teaching Jawi.
Tan claimed the ministry has been evasive on the issue despite five discussions that were held between both parties on July 25, August 8, August 14, August 21 and November 5.
In August, the federal government drew flak for announcing the introduction of khat (Jawi calligraphy) for Primary Four vernacular school pupils beginning next year.
The same month, the Education Ministry said vernacular schools will only teach the Jawi script at a basic level instead of the khat calligraphy.
Following a discussion by the Cabinet, the ministry said the introductory lessons will stay in vernacular schools, but only with the consent of students and each school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
The ministry also reiterated the Cabinet’s decision that the Jawi lesson takes up only three pages in the Bahasa Malaysia textbook, and will not be subject to any tests or examinations.
Originally, khat took up six out of 164 pages of the new Bahasa Malaysia Standard Four textbook, as part of language art activities. - malaymail
Defending himself against criticisms of the Kongres Maruah Melayu, Mahathir shot back that his critics still “retain their identification with their countries of origin even after being in Malaysia and holding its citizenship for three generations”.
ReplyDeleteHe complained additionally, “They do not want to lose their racial identities. They manifest this ethnic link through their language, culture, schools and ethnic organizations”. It was Mahathir’s shot across the bow at Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indians.
""MADEY CAKAP SIKAP ETNIK CINA & INDIA "
He posted in his blog chedet.cc on Oct 25:
ReplyDelete“When the former colonies of the European nations gained independence, many discriminated against the non-Indigenous people. Some had to leave the country. Some were violently attacked.
“Not so in this country. The non-indigenous people were accepted as citizens. In fact, 1 million of the non-indigenous people were given citizenship even though they were not qualified.”
Examples of orang asing (who were brought in by the British) being forced to leave their host country are Burma’s Indian exodus and Uganda’s expulsion of Indians.
According to Mahathir, the non pribumi elsewhere in the former colonial states were even “violently attacked” and how fortunate it is that the non-indigenous guest workers in Malaya were neither attacked nor asked to leave the country.
"MADEY CAKAP '
Mahathir believes in total assimilation – read his Malay Dilemma. As recently as only a month ago, Mahathir reiterated, “Other multiracial countries see non-indigenous people identifying themselves with the indigenous citizens almost completely”.
ReplyDelete"MADEY CAKAP : perkara2 yg Cina & India tidak akan buat di Malaysia ini .