Chua: Chinese language should be a must

(The Star) – The Education Ministry should look into making Chinese language a compulsory examination subject for Chinese students in secondary schools which offer the subject, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

 

“I suggested to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for it to be made compulsory for all Chinese students in SMJK to take the language as an examination subject. And he has asked the Education director-general to look into the matter.

“The problem is that there are many non-Chinese students who are weak in the subject and it would not be fair to make the subject compulsory for them.

“The ministry is still looking into how this can be implemented and I believe we will hear a decision soon,” he told reporters after launching the Bandar Tun Razak MCA‘s meet-and-greet dinner at Padang Bear Ikan Emas here on Friday night.

More than 1,000 residents, including representatives from 50 non-governmental organisations, attended the dinner. During the event, 100 senior citizens above the age of 60 received RM100 in financial assistance.

Responding to a statement by former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo that the MCA was not “aggressive enough”, Dr Chua said: “Only now, after he has been defeated, is he aware of the role of component parties.

“When he was Mentri Besar, he never paid any attention to the importance of component parties and I believe this is part of the reason why Barisan lost Selangor.”

Dr Mohd Khir had been quoted in media reports as saying that both the MCA and MIC had failed to play their role in attracting young voters.

Dr Chua also expressed his thanks to Selangor Umno deputy chairman Datuk Seri Noh Omar for his statement in a Chinese daily that the MCA would win two more parliamentary seats in the coming general election.

“I thank him for his confidence in MCA. However, apart from the Prime Minister and his deputy, few Umno leaders know much about MCA,” he said.