CHINESE education group Dong Jiao Zong wants a dialogue with the education minister and political parties on teaching Jawi in primary schools.

Group secretary-general Ng Chai Heng said it and other 17 Chinese associations felt such a dialogue was the best solution to the issue.

“We urge Education Minister Maszlee Malik to hold this dialogue with us as soon as possible so that we can find a solution to the issue of teaching Jawi in vernacular schools,” he said in a press conference in Kajang.

“We also want a dialogue with Pakatan Harapan. We feel we can solve this issue through dialogue, not confrontation,” he said, adding the movement was no longer interested in holding the planned congress, following a court order taken by the police to prevent it on grounds of public safety.

Police obtained the court order because it had received intelligence that a riot will break out if the event proceeds as scheduled.

Malay groups have said they will hold counter demonstrations should the congress be held.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had warned Dong Jiao Zong that its insistence on holding the gathering could lead to repercussions.

The congress was to discuss the inclusion of three pages of Jawi lessons in the Year Four Bahasa Malaysia textbook for vernacular schools next year.

According to Dong Jiao Zong, the congress was not a rally or protest, but a private conference for Chinese civil society groups to discuss the Jawi issue.

Pressure group Gabungan Seni Khat Action Team will hold its own event on the same issue tomorrow. – December 28, 2019.