As seasonal as the occasional outbreak of dengue fever that plagues our haze-infested land, the issue of Chinese education has once again stirred up heated debate on nation-building and ethnic relation.

It started innocently enough. Waking up from a political slumber, the MCA made a proposal for more Chinese primary schools to be built in cities and towns under the 9th Malaysian Plan. It is a practical and legitimate problem, one that has troubled Chinese parents and educators for decades. The population in our urban centres has increased many times, and yet the new Chinese primary schools built after independence have been too few and too far between.

All it takes is a nod from the Barisan Nasional government, of which the MCA is a senior partner. It would probably not involve any substantial allocation in public spending, since the generosity of the usually frugal Chinese people is legendary, when it comes to giving donation towards the construction of Chinese schools of all sorts. They regard their financial support for Chinese education as their second taxation in life.