The vernacular Chinese primary schools dilemma has become a political commodity routinely used by the ethnic Chinese political parties. All claim to champion Chinese-language education, yet after many years, no party have actually delivered any results.

MCA leaders since Lee San Choon failed to make any positive contribution towards the inking of a clear Chinese-language education policy. Yet, the MCA continues to hold the Chinese community votes for ransom in the general election, a problem that stems from failed policies of the Housing and Local Government Ministry, unable to prevent excessive urban migration among residents of new villages.

MCA has only managed to garner lip service promises from Umno leaders that they will never close down vernacular Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina. It has never successfully brought the matter into the written gazette of education policies. The current government will bring the school to its automatic closure.

There are many obvious policies today that discriminate against the Chinese-language education system:

  • The National Education Policy does not allow any new opening of vernacular Chinese primary schools in the densely populated Chinese communities in the Klang Valley as per demand. Over populated Chinese primary schools with more than 3,000 pupils is common in the Klang Valley, yet the government have turned a deaf ear to the pleas of the Chinese community.

  • The combined Unified, a university entrance examination conducted by the Chinese Independent Secondary School Federation remain unrecognised by the Malaysian government. Thus these students are denied places in local universities, including MCA-owned University Tunku Abdul Rahman.

  • The national service programme also denies the education rights of 820 students from Chinese independent schools, even though they are the candidates for the Unified Examination Certificate. (Ed: In December last year, the ministry announced that students from independent Chinese schools are allowed to defer their national service on ground that this would impede final year preparation for the Unified Examination Certificate).

    • Its time that government is transparent on its National Educational Policy on Chinese education. Political parties should stops playing around with Chinese school issue as though it is a political commodity.

    Its time that the MCA proves itself worthy of Chinese community support by delivering the following:

    1) Official and transparent gazette on the guidelines for the approval of new Chinese-language schools.

    2) Equal per capita expenditure allocated to Chinese schools in the education budget.

    3) Recognise the Combined Chinese School Federation Examination to enable the students to apply to local government universities.

    4) Intensive economic programmes to elevate the economic status of the new village residents and slow down the pace of urban migration among the younger generation.

    It is time that the Chinese community realise that lip service from the politicians is not enough; even the promises from the prime minister will not be meaningful unless they are written into government policy.