Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia, a coalition of 25 civil society action groups, wants Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to state his stand on a UiTM don's proposal to abolish vernacular schools for the sake of national unity.

NONE "The PM must respond. He must come out with a clear statement," said group spokesperson Zaid Kamaruddin at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

This is more so because the demand itself can be seen to be in answer to his own claim that a "Chinese tsunami" was behind BN's dismal showing in the 13th general election concluded on May 5.

The group said it sees no correlation between vernacular schools and disunity, pointing out that the issue is not with the type of school but with the policies practised and lessons taught.

Zaid reasoned that, even if children attend national-type schools, disunity is bound to occur if the lessons taught and policies practised smack of racism.

He bemoaned the "worryingly racist slant" aired over the past week, as seen in several instances - the blaming of Chinese Malaysian voters for BN’s losses in the general election; an ex-judge’s warning that the community will feel the backlash for spurning ‘Malay friendship’; and the don’s call for abolition of vernacular schools.

What is more important, he added, is to foster national unity in all schools via inter-school activities and wise government policies.