جاوي سباهاڬين دري بهاس كبڠسأن، دسبوت جلس دالم ڤركارا 152 ڤرلمباڬان ڤرسكوتوان
Persatuan Melayu Pulau Pinang (Pemenang) is baffled by Chinese education group Dong Jiao Zong’s opposition on the teaching of Jawi in vernacular schools.
Its chairman Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Abdul Latiff said the group failed to understand that Jawi is part of the national language.
On the looking back on the past year, Yussof said 2019 has been filled with racially-linked controversies. He said concrete solutions were needed to address such matters to ensure that it would not impact the country’s growth.
He believed the main reason for such cases of disharmony among the multiracial community was a lack of knowledge in history.
GEORGE TOWN: Persatuan Melayu Pulau Pinang (Pemenang) is baffled by Chinese education group Dong Jiao Zong’s opposition on the teaching of Jawi in vernacular schools.
Its chairman Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Abdul Latiff said the group failed to understand that Jawi is part of the national language.
“This is stated in the Article 152 of the Federal Constitution and Section 9 of the National Language Act.
“This is clear and (it is a) fact, so why are they against it?” he told the New Straits Times.
In August, the cabinet agreed that vernacular schools would teach only Jawi at the basic level, and not khat. This will be done only with the consent of students, parents and the Parent-Teacher Association.
The Education Ministry decided that the segment would be named “Introduction to the Jawi script” and would be taught on an elective basis to students in Year 4 in 2020, Year 5 in 2021 and Year 6 in 2021 in vernacular schools.
The cabinet at the time said Jawi would not be evaluated in tests and examinations.
The issue has persisted since then with Chinese education group having initially planned an anti-Jawi conference last Saturday, which was cancelled after Dong Jiao Zong received a court order from police.
Police obtained the court order on the grounds of disturbing the peace and disallowed the conference from convening.
On the looking back on the past year, Yussof said 2019 has been filled with racially-linked controversies. He said concrete solutions were needed to address such matters to ensure that it would not impact the country’s growth.
He believed the main reason for such cases of disharmony among the multiracial community was a lack of knowledge in history.
He proposed that as a means to tackle the issue was to include lessons about the country’s social contract in the education syllabus.
“We had submitted a memorandum to the Education Ministry in 2015 and I see this may be the right opportunity to revisit it (the proposal).
“We must create a platform where we have mutual understanding between the races. It is only then can we uphold tolerance and live harmoniously with each other as how we would want,” he added.
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