PAS Youth information chief Khairul Nadzir Helmi Azhar claimed that the issue of Jawi lessons in vernacular schools had been deliberately played up by certain parties seeking to take advantage of the situation.
He said DAP and MCA are capitalising on the government’s weakness in handling the situation by using the United Chinese School Committees' Association (Dong Zong) as a political tool to garner Chinese votes.
He said prior to the issue being played up, the Malaysian Chinese and Indians have good relations with the Malays.
“[…] Since the government today is so weak, they have taken advantage – parties such as DAP and I dare say even MCA.
“They use petty issues to attract the attention of the Chinese win over their votes. How disgraceful these people are, for the sake of political interests.
“Don’t they know the consequences? If they use this, it will threaten our national unity,” he said.
Khairul was speaking to about 300 people who attended a rally to defend the Jawi script and call for Dong Zong to be banned, which took place in front of the Sogo shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur.
The rally was organised by Malaysian Muslim Students Coalition (Gamis), and were joined by other groups including Umno Siswa, Gerakan Pembela Ummah (Ummah), and PAS.
The decision to hold the rally was made after the DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang criticised Gamis for publishing a poster featuring the words “Let's be with Dong Zong, repeat the May 13, 1969 incident”.
The poster was amended to read "Let's be with Dong Zong, don't repeat the May 13, 1969 incident" following public backlash.
The rally was supposed to begin with a march from Masjid Jamek, Kuala Lumpur, to Sogo.
As the group prepared to march, however, Gamis president Saifullah Baiduri announced that the march has been called off.
“To follow the advice of the authorities, I ask that we go to Sogo quietly without displaying our placards and flags.
“We will meet at Sogo and start our rally there,” he said.
The participants set off at 2.15pm to gather in front of Sogo, next to a group of buskers who were conducting their performances.
Despite calls to remain silent while on the move, some participants shouted, “Long live Islam” and “Reject Dong Zong”.
Meanwhile, in an impassioned speech, Ummah deputy chairperson Mohd Zai Mustafa accused Dong Zong of advancing a communist agenda in its opposition to Jawi lessons.
He said Malays do not resent Chinese and Indian, but Dong Zong’s "uncouth" attitude in disrespecting Malays.
“They live here and benefited from the Malays, and the root of the Malays is the Jawi script.
“[…] The excuse that teaching Jawi (would cause students) to convert Islam is ridiculous! It’s a stupid excuse!” he said in his speech.
He said if Dong Zong and "chauvinists" continue to oppose Jawi, Ummah will mobilise Malays nationwide to defend the script.
“If the Malays rise up, where is the position of the non-Malays? Is that what they want?” he said.
At this point, Mohd Zai’s firebrand speech seemed to have prompted street buskers performing nearby to stop playing, although earlier they had continued playing despite the ongoing rally next to them.
At a press conference later, Saifullah said if Dong Zong continues to raise issue with the Jawi lessons, Gamis would hold an even larger rally and send a memorandum to the Raja Permaisuri Agong.
When asked, however, no date was given for the second rally to take place.
He was also evasive when asked whether the group had obtained permission to hold the rally, whereas the Dang Wangi OCPD Mohd Fahmi Visuvanthan had said yesterday that police were not notified of the rally.
Saifullah merely said the group had been in contact with the police for "a long time".
Dong Zong was originally slated to hold a congress on Dec 28 last year to discuss the introduction of Jawi lessons in vernacular schools this year.
However, the congress was cancelled after police obtained a court injunction against it, citing security concerns.
According to the Education Ministry’s guidelines, the schools’ Parent-Teacher Associations are to administer a survey to all pupils’ parents at the school to ask whether they agree that Jawi lessons should be implemented.
If more than half of the parents agree, then classes would be conducted on the three pages of Jawi lessons, which are part of the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus. There would be no examination on the topic.
However, Dong Zong disagreed with the guidelines and wants schools’ board of governors to be given a say on the matter. - Mkini
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