Vernacular schools: Minister rejects 'sweeping statements'

 

PARLIAMENT | Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said academicians have the right to state their views and detractors should counter with academic arguments rather than “sweeping statements”.

He was responding to Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) who questioned the ministry’s view of a police probe against academic Teo Kok Seong over his claims surrounding vernacular schools.

“Academics argue based on their expertise, their backgrounds,” said Zambry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

“Therefore, it is also the responsibility of others who disagree in an academic context, to also counter with an academic argument.“But we cannot just accept any sweeping statements,” he stressed.

In a TikTok video posted by The Merdeka Times, Teo claimed vernacular schools could prevent national unity as Chinese students who were less intelligent could only master Mandarin, preventing communication with other races.

National Professors Council senior fellow Teo Kok Seong

Awang said Teo as an academician had a right to state his views based on his expertise, but instead, the National Professors Council senior fellow was dubbed a “racist”.

Zambry replied that there is a need to differentiate between academic arguments and ordinary statements, whether made by academicians or the public.

“Whether the statements came from a professor or ordinary people,” said Zambry in his ministry’s winding-up speech of the royal address debates.

Earlier, Teresa Kok (Harapan-Seputeh) repeated her claims against “racist” academicians and sought the government’s commitment to promoting unity on campuses.

Last Monday, Kok called for the police to probe Teo, contrasting the issue with the investigations against her fellow party members Lim Kit Siang and Tony Pua.

In her debate of the royal address in Parliament, Kok condemned Teo’s “racist and twisted statements” which she claimed distorted the relationship between the Malay and Chinese communities.

Teo has since doubled down on his remarks.