THE RM15 million given by the government to Dong Zong should not be politicised because the money is to be used for education, Nga Kor Ming said.

The Teluk Intan lawmaker said the money is not to support Dong Zong as an organisation, but for the vernacular schools in its care.

“Don’t make our children the victim of politics. The money is not for Dong Zong but for the schools,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“They should be given funding, in the same way as tahfiz schools are also given funding. We should not discriminate against those who choose to go to these schools.

“If they are citizens, they should be able to enjoy the funding. Look at it through the lens of education not politics.”

Established in 1954, Dong Zong (the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia) was set up to safeguard and develop Chinese education, while striving for equal educational status in Malaysia.

The group determines the syllabus for the United Examination Certificate (UEC), which is taken by students in 63 independent Chinese schools across the nation.

On October 1, Dong Zong president Tan Tai Kim said the Finance Ministry had approved RM15 million for 63 Chinese independent schools nationwide.

Islamist party PAS has urged the education ministry to explain this funding, while also asking how much was allocated for tahfiz schools.

Vernacular schools have been in existence since 1850 when the first school was set up in Penang, this was before Malaysia was even a nation, Nga said.

The only difference between vernacular and public schools is the national syllabus is taught in the respective mother tongue rather than the national language, he added.

“We have to change our perspective, our difference is our strength, we should celebrate this. If we are fluent in Malay, we can do business in Nusantara.

“If we are fluent in Tamil, we can do business in India and if we are fluent in Mandarin, there are 1.4 billion people who can speak this language. This is how we compete on the world stage,” he said, adding that as a product of vernacular school himself, he is fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.

Touching on the subject of the UEC, Nga said this was also another education issue that has been twisted into politics.

“Academically, UEC has been around since 1972. In this time, it has been recognised internationally in the US, UK, Australia and Singapore.

“UEC is also not just for the Chinese, it is also open to all races.”

The UEC qualification is taken by Form Six students at independent Chinese schools and is considered equivalent to the STPM in many foreign universities.

However, the UEC is yet to be recognised by public universities in Malaysia, thus forcing its graduates who wish to further their studies to either go to private universities or study abroad. – October 9, 2021.