Tamil groups hold peaceful march, cops told to register to enter hall

comments     Susan Loone     Published     Updated

Police failed to deter a group of 200-odd people, mostly Indian Malaysians, from holding a peaceful march in Kuala Lumpur today to publicise their frustration and protest over the controversial language switch to teach Science and Mathematics in English.

The group, organised by the Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) and Malaysian Tamil Educational Research and Development Foundation (MTERDF), came from Klang, Petaling Jaya and Selangor, began their 30-minute walk at the Kuala Lumpur Central Light Railway Transit station this morning.

They have earlier gathered at the Batu Caves Temple for prayers and a brief talk on Tamil education and the right to mother-tongue education.

Comprising representatives from various non-governmental organisations, political parties and student activist groups, the marchers chanted songs, slogans and carried banners with bold protest messages like "Yes to English but No to Science and Mathematics'.

Among those present at the walk were PRM deputy president Rustam Sani, vice-president R Sivarasa, treasurer Koh Swee Yong, Youth chief Faisal Sanusi, Parti Sosialis Malaysia pro-tem president Dr Nasir Mohd Hashim and secretary general S Arutchelvam, Keadilan supreme council member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar and Parti Rakyat Insan Malaysia pro-tem secretary general P Uthayakumar.

The GCC reps comprised, among others, K Arumugam, S Nagarajan, S P Pathy and Charles Santiago. Others included several Chinese Malaysian student representatives from universities nation-wide and members of Chinese educationist movement Dong Jiao Zong, which was represented by Tan Yoke Suan.

Not disturbing anyone

More than 20 policemen and special branch officers tried to stop the group from completing their walk. At one point, the police requested that the organisers handed over their identity cards but the members argued that they were merely "conducting a peaceful march and had no intention of disturbing anyone".

After several negotiations, the police decided to accompany the marchers to the Federal Territory Girl Guides Hall in Brickfields, where a two-hour talk on the implications of the government's move to teach Science and Maths in English was held.

The police abandoned their attempt to disperse the group when Uthayakumar waved the Federal Constitution at them and cited articles related to freedom of expression and assembly.

Upon arrival at the hall, the police requested to attend the talk and to video-tape the session, but this was disallowed by the organisers who politely told them to register before they entered the hall just like everyone else.

Ended peacefully

Later, some plainclothes policemen were seen among the participants in the hall, which ended peacefully at around lunch time.

The action of the Indian Malaysian groups today continues to challenge the public perception that only Chinese Malaysian groups were against the language switch.

This perception has caused several quarters, including senior ministers and the mainstream media, to attack and label Dong Jiao Zong as "extremist and chauvinist', for their defence of mother-tongue education.

To publicise their protest further, the Indian Malaysian groups launched a 22-page booklet entitled "The Cry" on Friday to show how the sudden and controversial language switch will impact poor children from Tamil schools and marginalise them further.

Meanwhile, at the talk, former Tamil school headmaster A Nagappan said that the language switch will cause the "natural death" of vernacular schools, as parents would naturally enrol their children in national-type schools from now on.

Language and soul

Nagappan said schools exist not only to educate children but also to inculcate cultures and identity and to "take away one's language is to destroy one's soul".

Malaysian Youth Council representative Raja Ratnam * , who hails from Kelantan, said that when schools in Kelantan and Perak implemented the language switch, the pass rates plunged to an "all-time low".

"In these schools, Tamil was the language of their dreams which is directly connected to their minds. When this language is contaminated, children lose their understanding of everything," he added.

C Mangai Yarkarasi, a homemaker from Klang, questioned why the Tamil school headmasters were silent about the issue even though they were aware of its implication on the community.

"Why were they mute at meetings, do they fear that they will lose their jobs?" she queried.

N Elanjelian, a engineering student from UK, who went through Tamil education, but managed to score top marks overseas, said that Tamil was a part of Malaysia and Malaysians.

"People should not feel ashamed to send their children to Tamil schools when it is an education handed down from our descendants," he said.

"The whole concept of education is to strengthen the foundation, the ability to use reasons and logics. If you can think, you can do anything, you can go anywhere," he added.


* Correction: It has been pointed out to us that Raja Ratnam did not represent Malaysian Youth Council at the above mentioned function. Raja Ratnam was a representative of the Malaysian Indian Youth Council. We regret and apologise for the error.


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