‘Live with it’, PM tells critics of vernacular schools

SHAH ALAM, Oct 18 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak acknowledged today that a multi-stream education system was not ideal, amid calls to abolish Chinese schools, but said vernacular education was protected under the country’s “social contract”.

The prime minister said it was pointless to revisit the issue, pointing out that vernacular education was decided back when Malaysia achieved independence.

“I know different schools, different streams, is not ideal,” Najib said in a speech at Gerakan’s 44th National Delegates Conference here today.

“Our social contract allows for different streams and we live with it. We have to live with it. There’s no use going back and say, ‘why don’t we have one stream?’

“If you want to blame, blame Tunku. You might also blame Tun Razak. But all these things were decided. To me, let’s just move on, move ahead,” he added, referring to Malaysia’s first and second prime ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

The so-called “social contract” is an unwritten quid pro quo deal with the Bumiputera communities purportedly agreed upon before Independence in 1957 that grants citizenship to the immigrant Chinese and Indians in exchange for Malays receiving certain privileges.

The pro-Malay “Red Shirts” rally in September saw the display of placards calling for the abolition of Chinese schools that angered MCA and Gerakan, who insisted that vernacular education was a constitutional right in Malaysia.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said later that a single-stream school system would be an ideal way to foster racial integration, but stressed that such a proposal required the consent of all stakeholders.

Najib said today that Malaysia was the only country outside China and Taiwan to have Chinese education.

“You don’t have Chinese education in Singapore, you don’t have Chinese education in Thailand, you don’t have Chinese education in Indonesia, but in Malaysia under Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN), you have Chinese education.

“Chinese education is here to stay,” said the prime minister.