KUCHING: Perak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Nga Kor Ming needs to wake up from his fantasy that the party has been listening to the public, said Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
Its vice president Teo Boon Siew (pic) slammed Nga and his cohorts of being so caught up in the controversy surrounding varying government decisions on the inclusion of Jawi calligraphy lessons in primary-level vernacular schools.
“Nga and the DAP are indeed rewriting the history of Chinese education in Malaysia and aim at gaining political mileage,” he said in a statement released yesterday.
Teo, who is also the PDP Dudong branch chairman, accused DAP of continuing to peddle its comments but pointed out that it had achieved nothing.
DAP’s action of glossing over the fears and tears of the Chinese has indeed lowered the integrity of Chinese education.
“Nga’s latest comments were meant to justify and defend the government’s decision on the Jawi calligraphy, even in the face of large-scale opposition to the policy.
“Whether Nga really understands the meaning of public opinion, the inclusion of the three-page Jawi calligraphy is undeniably to maintain the status quo,” Teo said.
Popular opinion on the issue, he pointed out, is to maintain the status quo, not to add or subtract anything from the current syllabus and especially not to make the Jawi calligraphy compulsory or subject to tests.
“What is the concession that DAP is talking about? Does he really believe that the final decision made by the government is truly reflective of public concerns?,” said Teo
“If the three pages are not mandatory, why were they included in the curriculum?” he asked.
He wondered if Nga really could be a torchbearer for the Chinese.
“He had first dismissed the Chinese fears as an overreaction. But now, he is falling over himself to downplay the crisis even when Dong Zong faces the threat of being deregistered.
“Even now, his words do not seem to reflect the public concerns brought on by the calligraphy controversy,” he pointed out.
On the unjust labelling of United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia or Dong Zong by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Teo reckoned that its transgression was merely to preserve the ideals and principles of Chinese education from being further eroded.
“For defending the integrity and legacy of Chinese education, Dong Zong’s reputation has been damaged by the Prime Minister who unfairly labelled the respected association as ‘racist’.”
“Some groups have even audaciously called Dong Zong an extremist group,” lamented Teo.
The PDP vice president further expressed his concern over accusations hurled at teachers and children who have chosen not to learn the Jawi calligraphy.
“While the decision to implement the policy is left to the Parent-Teacher Association of each school, who will have the say for treatment, obstacles, or coercion by the education authorities the PTAs will face for their decision not to support the Jawi calligraphy?” he said, adding that it would further deteriorate the quality and integrity of Chinese education.
