The Malaysian Insight

BERSATU Youth wants Chinese educationists’ group Dong Zong banned, and has launched a petition towards this end.

Wing exco member Muzzammil Ismail said Dong Zong, or the United Chinese School Committees’ Association, has undermined unity by claiming Putrajaya’s move to introduce khat for Year Four pupils in vernacular schools is a form of Islamisation.

“Dong Zong continues to pressure the government by making various demands. Launching a petition to protest against Jawi was a calculated and despicable act to undermine Malaysia’s heritage,” he said in a statement today.

He said the group had also led calls to pressure the government to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate for independent Chinese secondary schools.

At the time of writing, the Bersatu Youth petition, launched yesterday, had gotten 26,593 signatures.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad branded Dong Zong as “racist”, and said it always opposes Putrajaya’s efforts to foster unity.

He said the group had previously opposed an inclusive education system that would see pupils of all races together on a single campus.

“Dong Zong is racist. (Previously,) the government had introduced a single campus for Wawasan, Chinese, Tamil and national schools,” he said in Langkawi.

Dong Zong led a campaign to oppose the plan to teach Jawi and khat to Year Four pupils in Chinese schools, and announced its petition despite the Education Ministry giving an assurance that neither topic will be included in examinations.

Chairman Tan Tai Kim on Saturday said its campaign will draw support from Chinese associations, education boards, parent-teacher associations and alumni groups, as well as Tamil education groups.

He said the petition calls on the ministry to retain the introduction of khat, alongside Chinese and Tamil writing, in the Year Five Bahasa Malaysia syllabus.

“Non-Muslim students being introduced to khat is unacceptable to the non-Muslim community, and violates Article 12(3) of the federal constitution.”

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik had said the decision to proceed with the plan to have khat in the Year Four BM textbook for vernacular schools was reached at a weekly cabinet meeting.

Under the new cabinet instructions, khat lessons will cover just three pages of the Year Four BM textbook, down from the six pages proposed previously.

“The cabinet also decided that the introduction of khat will be optional, with teachers given the power to decide on its implementation in their respective classrooms.” – August 13, 2019.