KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 ― The “Bina Bangsa” nation-building module to be introduced for vernacular primary schools is unnecessary as the demographic make-up and language of instruction in schools do not determine national unity, DAP MP Zairil Khir Johari said today.
Responding to Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid's plan for the new module, Zairil said there were deep flaws in the Education Minister's argument that it should only be applied for vernacular schools.
“Why force 'Bina Bangsa' on vernacular schools, when national schools are less multiracial in make-up?
Firstly, contrary to general perception, national schools are actually now more mono-ethnic in make-up compared to vernacular, especially Chinese, schools. While it is true that national schools in the 1960s and 1970s could boast of high non-Bumiputera enrollment, this is no longer the case,” Zairil said in a statement.
The DAP Parliamentary Spokesperson for Education, Science and Technology pointed out that according to the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB), Bumiputera students now make up 94 per cent of enrollment in national primary schools- meaning that non-Bumiputera enrolment in national schools has dropped to only 6 per cent.
In contrast, the MEB also showed a 12 per cent increase in non-Chinese enrolment in Chinese vernacular schools.
“This effectively means that Chinese schools are more multiracial compared to national schools.
“In fact, there are Chinese schools with very significant numbers of non-Chinese enrolment. To give one example, SJKC Tiong Hua Kok Bin in Klang has about 45 per cent non-Chinese students,” Zairil explained,.
The Bukit Bendera MP said that it was very “mischievous” for Mahdzir to imply that vernacular schools were an obstacle to national unity as such an assertion was without basis.
“It is not the demographic make-up of a school or the language of instruction that determines national unity or affects the predilection of an individual to be racist.
“The more critical question that should be asked is: why are less and less non-Bumiputera parents sending their children to national schools while more and more Bumiputera parents send their children to Chinese vernacular schools?” Zairil said.
