Petaling Jaya Utara Parliament Member Chew Mei Fun was again conspicuous by her absence at the SOS Damansara fund-raising dinner, adding to a history of missed dates with supporters of the Chinese primary school.

Inevitably, Chew - also the parliamentary secretary of the women, family and community development ministry - was singled out for criticism.

Chinese education movement Dong Jiao Zong honorary secretary Ko Bing Liyong compared her with Gasing Indah state assemblyperson and Gerakan Selangor exco member Lim Thuan Seng, who has attended several of these dinners.

"Why is that Lim can show up, while Chew can't? Why hasn't she raised the issues in Parliament? Where is her sense of responsibility as the MP for this area?" he asked in a speech.

More than 2,000 supporters were at the event at the Section 17 car park, including leaders of the Chinese community, politicians from Barisan Nasional component parties, opposition parties and human rights activists.

The SOS Damansara committee collected some RM270,000 in donations - exceeding the target of RM250,000 - with students also selling bottles of traditional medicinal wine and novelty items to add to the proceeds.

The money will be used to cover the cost of operating the school from air-conditioned containers in the compound of a temple.

The original premises were closed in 2001 when the school was relocated to new facilities some 4km away. Those who resisted the move have kept the school going, currently with 60 students and 10 teachers.

Young performers

The SOS committee's demands include the re-opening of the school, construction of 16 more Chinese schools in Petaling Jaya and implementation of policies consistent with the United Nations code on mother-tongue education.

Committee chairperson Yong Yoke Song pointed out that Petaling Jaya, with a population of 340,000, has only eight Chinese schools.

"According to the government's ratio, there should be at least 16 more Chinese schools in PJ," he said.

During the dinner, students, including members of the school alumni, performed songs, martial arts and skits for a receptive audience.

Children as young as seven showed off their talents in acrobatics, Chinese opera and playing traditional instruments.

In one item, students lamented the loss of mother tongue education.

One by one, they pointed to the next person in a literal 'passing-of-the-buck' scenario, saying in various dialects and languages, "I can't speak Mandarin. Don't look at me. Look at him."

Then they pointed accusingly at the audience, asking, "Why can't you speak Chinese? Why can't you speak Chinese?"

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