Ramasamy: Engage with vernacular school critic, not take police action

Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has defended academic Teo Kok Seong after the police opened an investigation paper over the latter’s remarks on vernacular schools propagating racism.

In a statement uploaded on Facebook today, Ramasamy said the government or any parties with differing views should engage in healthy discourse rather than resorting to police action.

“Is there a necessity for police reports leading to the preparation of investigation papers against UKM’s former academic and member of the professors’ council Teo?

“Teo is being investigated under Section 505 of the Penal Code and Section 223 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

“This was revealed in Parliament by Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. Section 505 makes it an offence to spread fake news whereas Section 223 makes it an offence to transmit lies and untruths through communication channels,” he said.

Ramasamy said he does not agree with Teo’s views on vernacular schools but it does not mean the latter should be arrested simply because his opinion was different.

Teo Kok Seong

The former DAP lawmaker also slammed Seputeh MP Teresa Kok for calling the police to take action against Teo instead of engaging in a debate over vernacular schools.

“Rather than logically and rationally countering the invalid arguments of Teo, she asked the police to take action against Teo for spreading false news about Chinese vernacular schools - a typical DAP response of non-intellectualism,” he added.

Yesterday, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek told the media that Putrajaya has no intention to abolish the vernacular school system.

She said vernacular schools are constitutional and fall under the Education Act 1996, and they should be preserved.

Fadhlina’s remarks were in response to recent polemics surrounding vernacular schools following Teo’s remark.

Manage race relations better

Meanwhile, former minister Zaid Ibrahim also backed Teoh, saying he personally knew him as a respected academician.

“He is not someone who makes statements lightly. I know him. If he says there are Chinese in vernacular schools who think low of Malays, he must have credible evidence for that.

“Equally, there are some Malays who despise the Chinese. There is no need to lodge reports about such matters,” Zaid said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He further said turning Teo’s remark into the subject of a police probe would intensify feelings on the ground and invite backlash.

Instead of involving the police, aggrieved parties should find the source of dissatisfaction and look for a solution, he added.

Zaid urged Malaysia to look at Singapore in terms of how the country manages race relations.

“They build homes for the people and ensure every community lives in that housing area. All are represented.

“The government’s priority is to ensure inclusivity, and they live well with diversity.”

Malaysia, on the other hand, is on the opposite spectrum, where race and religion are used to relish differences, he lamented.

“The leaders of this country must do more to improve race relations.

“It’s easy to be a hero of one community and put fuel to the fire. Only responsible leadership can save this country, but for that, we need to work harder and smarter.”