THE Malaysian Muslim Students Coalition (Gamis) has vowed to stage another, bigger rally if Dong Zong continues to protest against Jawi lessons in school.
Dong Zong is a component of Chinese education group Dong Jiao Zong, which is against the teaching of the Arabic script in the vernacular schools next year.
Gamis president Saifullah Baiduri told protesters at an anti-Dong Zong rally in Kuala Lumpur today that he would also seek an audience with the Queen, Tunku Azizah Maimumah Sultan Iskandar to hand over a memorandum.
“Our new year has been ruined by Dong Zong. Their rejection of Jawi in school is against the constitution and they are disrespecting the Malay rulers.
“To Dong Zong, do not show your true colours as communists and DAP. If you continue to object to Jawi, we will gather a much bigger crowd than this.
“Do not go overboard,” Saifullah said in front of some 400 people.
City police yesterday said that Gamis had failed to meet the Peaceful Assembly Act requirements to submit notification of the street rally, thereby making the event illegal.
In his speech at the rally today, PAS Youth Information Chief, Khairul Nadzir lambasted Dong Zong. saying that the Chinese group was ungrateful.
He reminded them that they became citizens only because of the Malays’ “generosity”, in reference to agreement reached between the leaders of the various ethnic communities during Independence talks.
Khairul branded Dong Zong as “communist sympathisers” for objecting to Jawi lessons.
“They are communist agents and the communists have been rejecting Jawi since pre-Independence. Our independence was written in Jawi and they object to it; what does that mean?” he said, referring to the Malayan Declaration of Independence.
“We are not here today to hate the Chinese but we are here to reject an insolent Chinese group. They must remember that they are able to live here because of our generosity – Malay generosity,” Khairul added.
The PAS Youth leader hinted there would be Malay anger and retaliation if Dong Zong persisted in rejecting the Arabic script.
“If the Malays retaliate, what will happen to the non-Malays? Is this what they want? This is why we are saying, do not touch Jawi,” he told the rally.
Some 400 protesters, mostly Malay university students, marched in the rally from Masjid Jamek to the Sogo shopping centre in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
Police presence appeared to be minimal, with no more than 30 officers visible.
The rally proceeded despite police’s declaration that it was unlawful, and even though Dong Jiao Zong, of which Dong Zong is a component, had called off a conference on Saturday to discuss the introduction of Jawi writing in vernacular schools.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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