Dr M cautions Chinese congress on Jawi script will lead to chaos

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has warned that the Chinese Organisations Congress to be organised by the Chinese educationist group Dong Zong and Jiao Zong (Dong Jiao Zong) will lead to chaos.

Mahathir (photo) said the Malay groups will react in a “very Malay way” when such a congress is organised.

"(If) they wanted to do something that is very Chinese, the Malays’ response will be very Malay, (including) asking Chinese schools to be closed. You do that kind of thing (Chinese congress) and you will get a reaction.

"We are (living in a) multiracial country, it is important for us to be considerate about other people's feelings," he said when visiting the media centre at the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 today.

Citing an example of another country, which he did not name, he said an attack on other races and the constitution itself will result in street protests and fighting, and people will start migrating.

"If you start making attacks against other races or going against the constitution, the end result will be chaos and instability.

"Everybody will be poor, we will see Malaysians migrating to other countries," he said.

Dong Jiao Zong planned to organise a Chinese Organisations Congress following the latest teaching guidelines on the Jawi script lessons.

The aim of the congress is to convince the government to cancel the Jawi script lessons in vernacular schools.

The new guidelines allow parents to decide if such lessons can be introduced in schools. The lessons will proceed if more than half of all parents agree with it.

Dong Jiao Zong disagrees with this on grounds that it will ruin the relationship among parents from different ethnicities who send their children to vernacular schools, especially the Chinese language ones.

It insisted that the school board of governors ought to have a say in the decision to implement Jawi script lessons, which are slated to begin next year for Standard Four pupils. - Mkini