BERSATU Youth has reiterated its stand that vernacular schools in the country be abolished in phases.
Bersatu Youth information chief Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir said this following Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim’s question in Parliament if Deputy National Unity Minister Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal still stood by his previous decision concerning vernacular schools.
Sim had pointed out during the Ministers’ Question Time that Wan Ahmad Fayshal as Youth and Sports deputy minister last year had called for the abolishment of vernacular schools.
In his reply, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal maintained that the previous statements he made on vernacular schools were done in his capacity as Bersatu Youth chief and not as deputy national unity minister.
Taking a potshot at Sim, Ashraf called Sim’s party DAP a “thorn in the side” that had impeded national integration.
“Are all of Sim’s previous poetic words merely political rhetoric to win the hearts of the Malay community? Malaysia has not forgotten how rigid DAP and its institutions are in defending vernacular schools and rejecting Jawi!”
Ashraf went on to question if Sim is aware of the non-Malay students in vernacular schools who cannot speak the national language.
“This is the reality – they are born in Malaysia, they live in this country and have made this country their home but yet they fail to speak the national language.
“Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Nepalese who have only stayed in the country for a few months can speak better (Malay), and after a year or two, their grammar is even better and without an accent, beating out Malaysians with blue MyKads – wake up!”
According to Ashraf, while Bersatu Youth acknowledges the need to command a second or third language in addition to English, he stressed that this must be done under one roof rather than a fragmented system.
“Bersatu Youth therefore maintains its stand that vernacular schools must be abolished in phases, especially if the [dignity of the] national language is not upheld and Malaysian history is distorted through the syllabus in vernacular schools.” – Nov 30, 2021
Photo credit: Norman Goh (Malaysiakini)
