While it is encouraging to see the education issue given such prominence in the coming Indera Kayangan by-election, I am sad that it centres on Chinese education per se , and not on meritocracy.

I am always flabbergasted how Chinese educationists and the opposition have centred their cause on Chinese schools. While it is important, the truth is that quality education is the larger issue. The government has failed in providing quality education in national schools everywhere which is why Chinese schools are so popular even to non-Chinese.

The real reason why Chinese schools are so important to the Chinese community is because it is seen as one of the few remaining bastions where meritocracy is alive. There are few avenues left in this country where the Chinese feel they are not severely deprived or handicapped whether it's jobs, business opportunities, justice or tertiary education.

Basic education allows the Chinese to keep themselves relevant to the world. With it, they can at least hope to pursue private tertiary education here or abroad.

The government, and Umno in particular, are afraid that Chinese schools would cause a rift in national unity. This view is wrong as there is no real proof. The Singapore experience has shown that Chinese schools are not a deterrent to national unity if quality education is provided.

Until the 1980s, the government of Singapore was so successful in providing quality English education, it feared that Chinese language in the republic would deteriorate!

Ask any of the 60,000 Malay students in Chinese schools (and the thousands who have graduated) if they feel that Chinese schools are a deterrent to national unity and the answer will be a unanimous 'no'. Why? Chinese schools are about the pursuit of knowledge and qualifications following a system that's yet to be tainted by racist streaming and other unfair practices.

Over the years I have seen schools like St John's Institution, Victoria Institution and Methodist School deteriorate in quality. These schools used to churn out many quality students and high achievers who went on to study in top universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge and Harvard.

They were seen to be on par with other good schools in the region, such as the Raffles Institution in Singapore. Unfortunately, these schools today no longer enjoy the glory they once had. They have instead become a sad reflection of the government's 'dumbing down for the sake of national unity' policy.

The BN and Umno should realise that Chinese education is about the Chinese resistance to 'dumb down' for whatever reason. It is about their struggle to remain relevant and their right to thrive in a system based on meritocracy.