Don’t sell country for Chinese vote, Ridhuan Tee warns Kajang hopefuls
(MM) – Controversial columnist Ridhuan Tee Abdullah cautioned contenders of the Kajang by-election that they would harm the country’s future if they pandered to Chinese demands on education in return for votes.
Urging both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) not to cave to pressure for more vernacular education when angling for the support of the Chinese community, Ridhuan indicated that such schools were not conducive to national unity.
“My reminder to the BN and PR governments, be careful in every decision that involves the country’s future.
“Do not give away everything simply because of the desire to win the by-election. Who will suffer losses later?” the academic said in his opinion piece titled “Kajang by-election: give Chinese rights?”
Ridhuan Tee criticised the demands of the Chinese community – whom he labelled “ultra kiasu” – for the federal government to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as a secondary school certificate and the push for the Selangor government to grant land for a new Chinese independent secondary school.
The Chinese community has long asked Putrajaya to accept the UEC as an alternative certificate to the STPM for entry into local public universities, but a refusal to meet the request has seen UEC holders furthering their studies in countries such as Taiwan and Singapore instead.
He also blamed vernacular schools for creating racial silos that were detrimental to national harmony among the races, and claimed they siphoned off funds from national and religious counterparts.
The senior lecturer with the National Defence University also denied that national schools were used to favour the Malay community, saying that the Malay medium was used because it was the national language.
With a 41-per cent Chinese electorate in Kajang, vernacular education is shaping up to be the main battleground in the contest between PR and BN for the March 23 by-election.
BN has sought to depict Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as no friend of the Chinese community, pointing to his role in allegedly suppressing vernacular schools when he was deputy prime minister and causing the 1987 Ops Lalang crackdown.
The Ops Lalang crackdown took place after Chinese discontent over alleged interference in vernacular schools culminated in a 2,000-strong public demonstration involving both DAP and MCA.
Both PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and MCA was seen to court the Chinese community by attending a recent Kajang event by the United Chinese Schools’ Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong).
In a surprise move, PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh resigned as Kajang state assemblyman, presumably to pave way for Anwar to contest the by-election.
The EC has set March 23 as the polling date for the Kajang by-election, the country’s third since Election 2013 last May.
