PUTRAJAYA should act as a facilitator in the Jawi controversy and must refrain from making any statement to the media before engaging with stakeholders, academic Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi told the National Jawi Congress today.

According to Tajuddin, Putrajaya must take into account the voices of the people, even minorities.

“We must not look at ourselves as citizens, but as a family. We have 38 ethnic groups in Malaysia and each and one of us are in one small family,” he said.

“Putrajaya must become the facilitator in this issue.

“The ministry, instead of publicising statements to the media, could invite civil society groups for a backdoor meeting so that this issue can be discussed further.

“MPs must realise they work for the people. The curriculum belongs to the people, democratically they have every right to protest,” said the academic from UCSI University.

Meanwhile, Bobby William from Dayak Rakyat Action Force (Draf) said that there has been no consultation between the ministry, and the people in Sabah and Sarawak about Jawi.

He admitted that many Sarawakians and Sabahans are uneasy with the involvement of Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) as one of the decision makers in the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus.

“We are not clear on this issue. There is no clear explanation given to us from Malaya. We in Sabah and Sarawak feel left out.”

“We have doubts about Jakim, because there is no engagement with stakeholders. Only with one or two groups on the peninsula,” said William.

The congress today was held at the Crystal Crown Hotel in Petaling Jaya. About 1,100 people showed up, including a group of Malays who wanted Jawi to be taught in schools.

Police officers were deployed to monitor the congress, which ended peacefully after three hours.

Yesterday, a similar conference to be held in Kajang was cancelled at the last minute after the police obtained a court order to stop the meeting on the grounds that the event, organised by Chinese education group Dong Jiao Zong, could cause racial tension and unrest.

Meanwhile, Arun Dorasamy reiterated the Jawi issue has nothing to do with race or religion.

He stated that the problem could have been resolved easily if the ministry decided to engage with all parties.

“The Jawi issue is not a serious matter but it has turned out to be a big problem for the country.

“Sekat urges engagement and this matter can end amicably if the ministrys listen to us, postpones the introduction of the lessons and call everyone involved for a discussion.

“However, now it has dragged on for too long.

“There are people who don’t even understand the issue but have been misguided into believing that this is about race,” he said.

The congress passed seven resolutions to be handed over to the Education Ministry tomorrow. – December 29, 2019.