KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) has welcomed and supported the Education Ministry’s latest multilingual approach towards resolving the thorny issue of Jawi calligraphy lesson for vernacular schools in the country.
Its president Tan Sri T C Goh also proposed the ministry to fully rescind its questionnaire survey for Year Four students and parents of vernacular schools on Jawi calligraphy, next year, citing that it was no longer relevant following the ministry’s latest well-thought-out approach.
He further noted that surveys conducted previously also showed that the parents were overwhelmingly against the teaching of Jawi calligraphy.
He opined that the ministry’s proposed multilingual solution is a fitting approach that is well in line with our country’s multiracial background.
“We hope the current Perikatan Nasional (PN) government could thoroughly review the ‘executive decision’ made by the previous government on 14 August 2019 to introduce Jawi calligraphy in vernacular schools, and to replace it with this multilingual resource manual,” he said.
He said this while welcoming the statement by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon on Saturday that a multilingual resource manual which will include not only Jawi, but also Chinese, Tamil, as well as the native languages of Sabah and Sarawak, will be launched soon by the Education Ministry to address the concerns of some, especially Chinese educationists, over the Jawi issue.
Mah said he had been working with a number of Chinese education groups, including the Malaysian Chinese Language Council, Dong Zong and Jiao Zong, among others, for the past nine months to sort out the issue.
In a statement yesterday, Goh said Huazong fully supports the proposed multilingual approach, as it is well in sync with its views and stands on the Jawi calligraphy issue.
He also hoped that the Education Ministry could expedite the implementation of the proposed multilingual approach, so as to fully resolve the Jawi calligraphy issue, once and for all.
“In order for the proposed approach, which is well received by Chinese organizations to be implemented, it must get the final nod from the Education Ministry and the Federal Cabinet,” he said.
Goh who is also the president of The Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) also supported Mah’s clarification that the proposed manual was not part of the textbooks, and would include general knowledge like the national emblem, ringgit notes, a one-page introduction of the Chinese along with Chinese and Tamil calligraphy.
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