Eight members from the United Chinese School Association of Jerantut were charged today with unlawful assembly for a protest against the implementation of Jawi lessons for vernacular schools.
According to the charge sheet read at the Jerantut Magistrate's Court, they held a rally in front of SJK(C) Sungai Jan on Aug 20, 2019, which contravened Section 142 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 143 of the same act.
If convicted, they can be jailed for up to six months or fined, or both.
They all pleaded not guilty and were released on RM3,000 bail each.
Magistrate Nur Shafiqah Noorinda set March 30 for case management.
When contacted by Malaysiakini, lawyer Ng See Teong said he was not satisfied with the large bail set by the court.
Ng, who attended the court with co-counsel T Gunaseelan, said the prosecutor asked for RM6,000 bail before they pleaded for a lower sum of RM500 each.
"Our clients gave their full cooperation to the police. They are all popular leaders in society and unlikely to flee. It is a bail but not a fine, and RM6,000 bail is only required for big cases like drug-related offences.
“In addition, there were around one hundred people at the rally, why only eight of them charged?
"Why did the case emerge after more than a year? There is speculation that this was due to the upcoming general election," he said.
'We’re not anti-Malay or anti-Jawi'
Goh Say Aik, the chairperson of the United Chinese School Association of Jerantut, also expressed disappointment regarding the case.
Goh, who is one of the accused, said the purpose of the rally was to express their opinion and should not be deemed as an unlawful assembly.
“This case is not only about the eight of us. If we are found guilty, it will have a huge impact on those holding rallies in the country.
“We are not anti-government, anti-Malay or anti-Jawi. We just didn't want it to be included in the vernacular school curriculum.
"We will maintain our stance. It’s not for personal interest, but to defend Chinese and vernacular education,” he added.
Representatives from both the government and opposition were present in court to show their support for the accused today.
Among them were DAP's Tras assemblyperson Chow Yu Hui and Tiang assemblyperson Leong Yu Man, and Jerantut MCA deputy chairperson Sam Cho Wah.
Malaysian Chinese Language Council (MCLC) president Eddie Heng Hong Chai also told Malaysiakini that the RM3,000 bail was too high and a form of punishment.
In mid-2019, it was discovered that the Pakatan Harapan administration had agreed to proceed with the previous administration's plan to introduce seni khat or Malay calligraphy into the Primary 4 Bahasa Malaysia syllabus.
The decision was met with heavy protest from the non-Malays, who believed that the move was related to Islamisation and would burden their children.
Then education minister Maszlee Malik initially refused to budge, stressing that khat was part of Malay heritage and that the lessons involved only six pages on the textbook.
Eventually, the Harapan administration buckled under pressure and switched from an introduction to khat to an introduction to Jawi, involving only three pages. Vernacular schools had the choice of opting-in to teach those three pages through a vote from parents.
Last July, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said the government would restudy the issue. - Mkini
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