KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — Dong Zong today said it respects the Malaysian Muslim Students Coalition’s (Gamis) right to hold rallies, following the latter’s announcement today of a planned protest tomorrow to push for a ban against the Chinese educationist group.

Its chairman Tan Tai Kim, however also said that Dong Zong has complied with all the necessary legal requirements under the Societies Act and has a role to speak up on vernacular school issues.

"We respect their freedom of expression and freedom of assembly yet we do hope they will be responsible and respect our opinion as well.

"Dong Zong is an organisation registered under RoS, we follow our constitution and obey all the rules and regulations under Societies Act 1966, as a concerned education NGO, it is our [responsibility] to voice up in any educational issue, especially on SJK matters,” he said in a brief response to Malay Mail when contacted, referring to the Registrar of Societies by its initials.

"Nevertheless we hope Gamis wouldn’t [be] using any racist remarks or wording, or doing any[thing] provocative,” he added.

Earlier today, Gamis announced on its official Facebook page that it will be holding the rally in Kuala Lumpur called "Himpunan Bangkit Pertahankan Jawi, Haramkan Dong Zong (Rally to defend Jawi, abolish Dong Zong) from 2pm to 4pm, with protesters told to gather at Masjid Jamek before marching to the Sogo shopping complex.

But the police told Malay Mail that Gamis’ planned rally will be in violation of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which requires the organisers of any assembly to give a five-day advance notice to the officer in charge of the relevant police district and to also provide written permission from the owners of the rally venue.

When contacted, Dang Wangi District Police chief ACP Mohd Fahmi Visuvanathan Abdullah said that the peaceful protest is invalid as he had not received any notice from Gamis on the rally tomorrow, adding that the route of the march means that Gamis also needs to produce written approval from landowner Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

Gamis previously courted controversy when it claimed that Dong Zong’s continued existence in Malaysia would mean that a repeat of the May 13, 1969 racial riots remains a possibility.

Gamis president Saifullah Baiduri had reportedly also urged the Home Ministry and police to ban the Chinese education group for purportedly being an obstacle towards unity and nation-building.

Gamis’ remarks were made amid Dong Zong’s opposition to the introduction of the teaching of jawi script in vernacular schools, as well as the latter organisation’s cancelled bid to organise a consultative meeting or conference of Chinese associations to discuss the issue.

Dong Zong secretary-general Ng Chai Heng had however also reportedly said previously that Dong Zong accepted the existing Year Five history lessons that include the teaching of jawi, Chinese and Tamil calligraphy within a multicultural context, while also expressing minority communities’ concerns regarding the teaching of jawi in vernacular primary schools.