Lau (second left) speaking at the press conference while (from left) Wee, Pau and Chai look on. Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING (Dec 8): The Sarawak United Association of Chinese School Boards of Management (Sha Dong Zong) is calling on the Ministry of Education to dismiss the teaching and learning of Jawi scripts in Year 4 Bahasa Melayu syllabus for Chinese primary schools.
In making this call, its chairman Dato Vincent Lau said the ministry should not make it compulsory for Chinese primary school pupils to learn Jawi scripts.
Based on the Education Ministry’s survey, he added that 97.3 percent of Chinese primary schools’ boards of management as well as parents objected the teaching and learning of Jawi scripts.
“Sha Dong Zong had conducted a similar survey on its own on 222 Chinese primary schools – comprising of 169 boards of management and 50 Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) statewide in February this year. Out of the total number of schools, the association found that 219 or 98.7 percent declined to accept the learning and teaching of Jawi scripts.
“As such, we urge the federal government and the Ministry of Education to respect the opinion of the Chinese primary schools,” he said at a press conference at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here today.
Meanwhile, Lau pointed out that the Chinese community is not against the teaching and learning of Jawi or khat, and he suggested making Jawi teaching and learning as an optional extra-curricular activity.
Prior to the press conference, Lau and Sha Dong Zong board members made a courtesy call to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to brief him on this issue.
Aside from omitting teaching and learning of Jawi scripts in Year 4 Bahasa Melayu syllabus, other issues that were brought to Abang Johari’s attention include the exemption of the formation of PTAs in Chinese primary schools of Sarawak and requesting for the federal government to allocate annual funding for 60 Chinese independent secondary schools within the country.
At the press conference, Sha Dong Zong treasurer Dato Richard Wee said Abang Johari had taken note of the matter, saying that he will instruct Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian to facilitate the matter and conduct follow-ups on it with the federal Ministry of Education.
At the courtesy call, they expressed their gratitude to Abang Johari and the state government for allocating a 15.29-hectare land in Samarahan Division to Chinese independent secondary schools.
Also present at the press conference were Sha Dong Zong deputy chairman Datuk Pau Chiong Ung and secretary Chai Voon Tok.
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