KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — The weekend edition of Umno-owned Malay newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, defended today a junior Umno leader’s call to abolish vernacular schools and suggested instead a “rebranding” exercise for the sake of the nation’s unity.
In its opinion column, the paper’s editors cited neighbouring Singapore as an example of the triumph of a single-stream education system, and warned that Malaysia must not continue to be trapped in a dual stream system.
“When other countries are moving way forward with a single stream education, Malaysia cannot forever be trapped with a dual stream system,” said Awang Selamat, the collective pseudonym used by Utusan’s editors.
“The hope to see a renewal is there, as long as all parties put the interest of the country, especially in unification and unity, above the narrow racial interests.”
Quoting academic Prof Dr Teo Kok Seong, the column said Malaysia’s neighbours Thailand and Indonesia have a single stream education for all regardless of their racial and ethnic background, and have succeeded in embedding their national aspirations and cultures at all level of the education system.
“Singapore is even more fantastic, it is at European-level of advancement with single-stream schools, without SJKC,” the column added, using the Malay initials for Chinese vernacular schools here.
Awang also said Putrajaya must revisit a suggestion to “rebrand” the vernacular schools and put the Ministry of Education in charge of them.
However, vernacular schools are already under the ministry’s purview.
Petaling Jaya Utara Umno deputy division chief Mohamad Azli Mohemed Saad upset several MCA leaders recently when he proposed that the upcoming Umno general assembly next month debate closing down Chinese schools, as he claimed that such schools were used to inculcate racism and anti-establishment sentiments.
In response, the Barisan Nasional’s Chinese party lodged a police report against the Umno politician for sedition, insisting that vernacular education is protected by the Federal Constitution.
“Whether the issue will be debated during the Umno general assembly, let Umno and its delegates decide,” the column said today.
Vernacular schools continue to grow in popularity in Malaysia, with an increasing number of non-Malay parents preferring to send their children to Mandarin- and Tamil-language schools over the Malay-language national schools.
Defenders of Bumiputera special privileges regularly target vernacular schools to deflect demands for equal treatment of the country’s races after decades of race-based affirmative action.
