‘The call by Mukhriz Mahathir to close down the vernacular schools is made as revenge against the MCA, Gerakan leaders for openly condemning Ketuanan Melayu .'

On Mukhriz: Close down vernacular schools

Viz Cherado: The call by Mukhriz to close down vernacular schools is very irrational and racial in tone. He made the call as revenge against MCA, Gerakan leaders for openly condemning Ketuanan Melayu and to fish for more votes in the coming Umno elections.

Mukhriz main purpose is to appear as an Umno hero but his actions will cause more uneasiness amongst the Chinese and Indians.

In fact, it is not the school system that has divided the rakyat, but those in power like Umno which practice racial discrimination, double standard and cronyism.

We have been living with these vernacular schools for around 51 years. We have been living in harmony and mutual understanding for so long but these politikus have politicised everything in this Bolehland. They will harp on cheap political issues.

However, they have yet to realise that after the political tsunami of March, the rakyat have changed. Regardless of race, they all now want transparency, good governance, equality, accountability, quality of life and quality of education.

They are not interested in leaders who preach racism or in issues that can cause disharmony. The rakyat want peace, harmony and economic growth, they want Change.

If those in Umno still refuse to change, then the day will come when in the next election, PKR and DSAI will walk into Putrajaya. So please stop harping on issues that can cause chaos and disunity.

Sang Kancil: This is another unreasonable guy from Umno. Who is he to suggest closing down vernacular schools? You can see even that even in the national type primary schools, polarisation is rampant.

Not only polarisation, but discrimination is at a very, very, serious stage. Some of the Malay teachers are practising double standards.

You Umno guys are all from the national schools and 90% of you guys are racist. How you are going to explain this phenomenon?

If at all you feel the vernacular schools should be closed down, close down all the other boarding and religious schools as well.

My advice to you Mukhriz, don't try to a champion of the Malays. I know you are doing this just to get extra mileage for the upcoming Umno elections.

Toh SP: I fully agree with you, Mukhriz. Let's go all out to promote racial unity and do away with everything that has racial connotations. I agree we should start when they are young.

So we shall abolish the vernacular schools. When the children grow up, they need to go to universities, so please abolish UiTM because it does not promote national unity and also do away with the quota system for enrolment into Malaysian public universities.

When they graduate, they will join the mainstream of society and once again we shall do away with race-based political parties such as Umno, MCA and MIC.

Of course, we must also do away with race-based affirmative action policies such as the 30% bumiputra participation policy and we must also promote meritocracy.

Show us your sincerity, Mukhriz, and you can start by abolishing UiTM. Dare you walk the talk or is it all talk and no action? Otherwise you know which political party will get my vote come the next election.

Kenny Gan: Mukhriz has given a new twist to the term Ketuanan Melayu claiming that it does not mean racial supremacy but the sovereignty of Malay Kings and the special position of the Malays. Our prime minister has previously explained that it actually denotes Malay mastery of skills.

All well and good but why do many Umno politicians get all emotional and defensive whenever the concept of Ketuanan Melayu is questioned?

If the one questioning is Malay he will be instantly labeled a traitor while non-Malays will be warned not to ‘play with fire'.

Why use a racially offensive term like Ketuanan Melayu or its English translation ‘Malay Supremacy' to denote something innocuous? How will Malays feel if MCA espouse the concept of Ketuanan Cina to denote economic progress?

If as Mukriz and others claim that Ketuanan Melayu is not about racial supremacy, why not replace it with a less provocative term such as Keistimewaan Melayu or Kemahiran Melayu ?

Will Umno agree to dropping the term Ketuanan Melayu for the sake of national unity?

If Umno still clings to an emotionally-laden term with negative connotations, we can only suspect that the phrase in question does serve a useful political purpose for Umno who will play it up to the hilt instead of dropping it in favour of a more agreeable term.

Kaisim: Malaysians in general are anxious about the economy come 2009 but Umno members are more concerned about the title Ketuanan Melayu . The latest provocateur is none other than the new ultra, Mukhriz.

This is a dangerous man who has nicely forgotten that the vernacular schools have been going on since Merdeka and they are entrenched in the constitution. Mukhriz can only be a leader for Umno youths as Malaysians in general will reject him outright.

It is lame excuse to say that the vernacular schools cause polarisation in Malaysia. Our children have been treated unjustly in many ways right up to universities. They are deprived of opportunities to study and work.

In many cases, they are bullied and humiliated in the colleges and work places. Umno politicians have been practicing unfair policies in the country, so even if Mukhriz closes down the vernacular schools, it will not improve the situation because the feelings are there.

What is so special about the title Ketuanan Melayu ? You can force a person to respect you but it is useless if respect does not come from the heart.

Respect will come naturally if Umno also respect others in the country. Forget it if you remain arrogant, selfish and unfair.

The Healer: Since when did the vernacular schools differ in curriculum besides the medium of instruction? It is unthinkable that Mukhriz would suggest polarisation through vernacular schools when all content of every subject remain the same.

Furthermore, concept of Ketuanan Melayu will not be far from the words used in that ketuanan 's root word is master.

Does that not show the master-servant relationship that is intended under Ketuanan Melayu ? Moreover, I should ask, does Mukhriz know his history?

Was there in anyway the mention of Ketuanan Melayu in the ‘social contract'? A special position does not give rise to ketuanan neither does it permit Malays to lord over the others and neither does it equate to favouritism towards them.

The weak should be helped - not just the Malays, but all Malaysians.

Helen Ang: Mukhriz blames vernacular schools for our polarised society. I agree the system is divisive.

In tandem with the Chinese schools shutting down, I hope that the elite residential schools, as well as the Mara Junior Science Colleges will then open their doors to these displaced Chinese students.

Since the Putrajaya schools are so well-equipped and well-funded, poor children from the dilapidated Tamil estate schools (who may not have birth certificates) or Indian children who may not attend school at all for lack of birth certificates can all be helped.

They might be sponsored/boarded or bussed to Putrajaya to receive the best educational advantages that privilege can buy. A Petronas scholarship would be an added bonus.

Chinese principals will be transferred or allowed to head the new integrated schools and should not be demoted or retrenched.

After the Chinese schools are shut down, everyone should take the same exam, either all the Malays take STPM or everyone take matriculation. And students not coded by race by their exam paper serial numbers, or the examiners told where the answers they're marking originate from.

After the Chinese schools are shut down, the Unified Examination Certificate will be done away with - this cert is the ticket for Chinese students to qualify for tertiary education in Taiwan, Singapore and other countries which accept UEC, which incidentally Malaysia does not.

In which case, since the UEC-entry higher education options will then be unavailable, UiTM and other Malay-assist colleges/institutions should take in all Malaysians without a quota limit.

With all the above adjustments in place, Mukhriz's clarion call for national unity will resonate with the Malay community his party represents...I'm sure.

Oh yeah, and by the way, any Umno bigwigs with kids enrolled in international schools should withdraw them forthwith, and show leadership by example.

All Malaysian schoolchildren under one happy roof, why not?

Siva Pragathese: I agree with Mukhriz's suggestion on the closing down of the vernacular schools provided mother tongue classes are made compulsory.

I do not see the reason why Geography, History, Science and Maths should be taught in either Chinese or Tamil when everybody in the end argues that Science and Maths must be taught in English.

Even in India, the private schools teach all subjects in English and that is why we see these students pave their way to foreign schools very easily.

But I cannot understand what this will have to do with Ketuanan Melayu perception.‘Malay Supremacy' is just a concept. Concepts can change depending on the state and quality of a person's mind.

Some have even suggested teaching our children about the ‘social contract' so that they are aware of the situation. This is murder of the mind. Children will then be taught that they are all different.

Some will get rewarded no matter how poorly they study while the rest are simply fated not to get what they qualify for because of the ‘social contract'. What kind of society are we creating?

I must congratulate the ‘intelligent' man who has come up with such a ‘brilliant' idea.

With the closing down of the vernacular schools, at least the Tamil schools will not have to suffer the miseries they do now. The Chinese educationists, though, will rebel for sure.

The disadvantage will be for the Tamil students in the interiors. The pupils will at lost without a school to attend.

Our politicians are generally not very smart as they are very emotional people. Educationists from various levels should be brought in to draw up the best plan possible for our education system.

And the system has to evolve with a fast changing pace not be stuck in a rut.

Maniam Sankar: I am all in support of Mukhriz's suggestion for a single school system for all students. This will actually happen naturally when the national school system is found to be delivering the goods.

When I went to school in the 60s, the national schools were the schools of choice. Even today, selected national schools (I think the ministry recognises them as ‘prescribed' schools) are the schools of choice but obviously are limited by the enrollment space they have.

Mukhriz will be better off finding out why parents are opting out of the system. There is a clear erosion in quality.

Proposing legislation for a single system now without improving the workings of it is to send our country's future down the drain.

Mukhriz's dad did it with his callous downgrade of the English language skills in schools. The son should make up for this mistake.

Mukhriz's other suggestion to teach Pupil's Own Language (POL) at schools is a laudable aim, but again, only if properly implemented like how Singapore does it.

There is no successful model for POL teaching in any Malaysian school, I believe.

Anbananthan Muniandy: I am not surprised that this comment came from Mukhriz. He is merely echoing his father's views.

I am also not surprised by the immediate objection from MCA as their life depends on the survival of the Chinese schools.However, for once, I tend to agree with Mukhriz's suggestion to have a standard education system.

It is possible to have a single medium school while making it compulsory for all students to take up at least one additional language subject such as Mandarin, Tamil, Arab or even Japanese at school until the PMR/SPM level.

Having said that, merging the primary school systems alone will not be sufficient to promote unity. Coming from a national type school, I used to have a lot of Malay friends.

However, as I progressed through PMR and SPM, most of my Malay friends left for boarding schools and matriculation. By the time, I was sitting for STPM, there were not even one Malay student left in Form 6 in my entire school.

It will do our country a lot of good should single education system be implemented at the boarding school and matriculation level. Accepting 30% of non-bumiputera students (according to the population percentage) into boarding schools and matriculation will be a good start.

A single pre-university examination should also be devised for all students including matriculation students. This will eliminate dissatisfaction among students since matriculation examinations are perceived to be easier compared to STPM.

Mukhriz should also look at UiTM as its system is too divisive similar to that of the vernacular schools. My bet is that he won't bother.

My challenge to Mukhriz is stand up and be a man of integrity instead of merely being proxy for his father.

If he is really sincere to promote unity between Malaysians, please fight for all of the above issues and not just harp on vernacular schools alone merely to gain political mileage.

Balakrishnan Manickam: This is another classic example of a cyclic behaviour before any Umno party elections.

Hmm...create unnecessary tension and call for attention. Anyway, what's new for aspirants without knowledge of the basic constitution.

Here we go again, round and round - another cyclic 'fever'. What's new on the agenda apart from cheap attention?

Millionth Citizen: Mukhriz Mahathir, please do not sound like your father as your father's antics aren't very popular now.

You have no right to call for the closure of the vernacular schools. Just like you claim that Ketuanan Melayu is enshrined in the constitution, the vernacular schools are also enshrined.

So, if you want to give up your Ketuanan Melayu , then you can close the vernacular schools.

Frankly, for your immature outburst, you should very well be arrested and charged with sedition but then again, we know there is a different set of laws for Umno members.

Wait for Pakatan to come to power. We will dare you to repeat the same again.