Gerakan has urged its BN partner Umno not to make Chinese vernacular schools the " sacrificial lamb" for its politics.

 

Responding to Umno Cheras division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee's proposal to close down Chinese vernacular schools, Gerakan secretary-general Liang Teck Meng said calling for the schools to be closed was "sinful".

 

"Closing down Chinese vernacular schools is a sinful act; education is sacred and students should not be made the sacrificial lamb for political reasons," he said in a statement today.

 

"Nowhere in the textbook content does it teach the Chinese students to discriminate against the Malays, Indians or create racial division.

 

"Saying that Chinese vernacular schools are the obstacles to national unity is totally groundless and ridiculous," Liang said.

 

On Tuesday, Syed Ali urged the government to abolish vernacular schools, which he called "a platform to fan racial sentiments".

 

His call followed Petaling Jaya Utara Umno  division deputy chief Mohamad Azli Mohamed Saad's move to have the matter debated at the forthcoming Umno AGM.

 

Liang said in the interest of cultivating talent, Umno should support all forms of education, "not just give out sinful statements to close down vernacular schools".

 

"No country in Southeast Asia, or even the world, will conduct the act of closing down schools.

 

"Education is sacred and any urging to close down schools is sinful," Liang added.

 

The political paradox of Chinese vernacular schools is a perennial one, with BN's Chinese-based parties using it as their platform to prove they champion the cause of their race, while Umno seasonally calls against these schools in an effort to appeal to its own Malay voters.

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