A DAP lawmaker warned that MCA’s political struggle will come to an end should Umno’s coming general assembly passes a resolution to close down Chinese schools in the country. 

 

Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik said if that happens, Malaysians should rise up and vote out MCA in the next general elections.

He said the party would have lost its relevance for failing to protect the interests of the Chinese community.

 

“What other role can the MCA play if it fails in its mission to protect the Chinese schools or defend the rights of the Chinese community as a whole?” Ng asked in a statement today.

 

Ng said the MCA leadership failed to act proactively to ensure that Chinese schools continue to exist even though its ally Umno will be debating the topic in its annual meeting.

 

“Amongst the MCA’s top leadership, we could only hear some lame responses from deputy president Wee Ka Siong – that Umno general assembly is free to debate over vernacular schools but maintain that Chinese education is here to stay,” said Ng.

 

“In fact, the MCA leadership right from its president Liow Tiong Lai to every single central committee member, divisional leader, as well as grassroots leader, should register their strongest protest over Umno’s attempt to pass any motion in its AGM to close Chinese schools,” he added.

Ng was referring to Umno vice president Hishammuddin Hussein who recently revealed that among the 755 proposals sent by the 191 divisions in the country, the debate on Chinese schools versus single-stream schools is one of the issues that will dominate the party’s general assembly this year.

 

Dominant issue at meeting

Yesterday, MCA central committee member Lau Choon Hann has urged for an end to “ stupid calls by narrow-minded and ignorant politicians” to shut down these schools.

 

"At a time when multiracial Malaysians enroll into SJKC, thereby showing its acceptance by various races, it is disheartening that there still exists narrow-minded and ignorant political leaders who love to cook up a storm for their cheap publicity and political mileage," Lau had said in a statement.

 

But this is not enough for the DAP lawmaker. He said the relevance of Chinese schools – just like national type schools – should not be questioned.

 

He added that the matter is a “non-issue” for Umno unless it wants to resort to Chinese bashing again, an old tactic that the party used to divide and rule the country to consolidate its Malay support base.

 

“All the claims that Chinese schools promoting disunity in the country are totally baseless,” Ng said.

 

He added that the non-Malays have declared their undivided loyalty to the King and state rulers, accept Malay language as their national language, and recognise Islam as the country’s official religion.

 

He challenged Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak to stand by his assurance last month that the national-type Chinese primary schools in the country are here to stay and are protected under the Federal Constitution and other laws in the country.

 

“Then, he must not allow the relevance of Chinese schools to be questioned in the Umno general assembly and eventually, for the critics of vernacular schools to push for the establishment of single-stream schools instead,” Ng said.

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