Perlis mufti blames vernacular schools for causing racial conflicts

Updated 4 years ago · Published on 30 Dec 2019 1:35PM · 10 Comments

Police officers at the Dong Jiao Zong headquarters in Kajang on Saturday where a congress on the teaching of Jawi was supposed to take place. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Seth Akmal, December 30, 2019.

THERE will always be disagreement among the country’s various communities as long as vernacular education is allowed to continue, said Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

The Perlis mufti posted this in his Facebook page after police stopped a congress against the teaching of Jawi organised by the Chinese Education group Dong Jiao Zong on Saturday.

“As long as vernacular schools that do not use the national language are not eliminated from the country, then the conflict and unrest between races will remain,” he said.

“We must unite and forget our differences in trying to restore the country’s strength with political power that will deal with this insolence firmly,” he said without naming who should unite to face this challenge or refer directly to the congress stopped by police.

Police obtained a court order to stop the congress after Malay right-wing groups threatened to demonstrate and hold rallies in support of the move to introduce the subject in Chinese and Tamil schools next year.

In a statement today, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said it was  concerned that the authorities are giving into the inciters of public order, after police obtained the court order to stop Dong Jiao Zong’s congress.

Suhakam said it’s done at the expense of the protection of the fundamental rights of Malaysian citizens.

“Suhakam believes that the Dong Jiao Zong conference, as well as the subsequent protests by its detractors, should have been allowed to proceed.

“For authorities to ensure that both groups could safely and fully complete their activities in order to satisfy their rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech is vital for the realisation of a free an open democracy.” – December 30, 2019.

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Comments

  • I wonder what about International Schools that do not use Bahasa Malaysia as their medium of instruction?

    Posted 4 years ago by Sidney Karan · Reply

  • Why blame vernacular schools when it is bigots and racists like the Mufti of Perlis and his mentor, Zakir Naik, who are indeed the root cause of race friction in the country. These two are also probably Involved in the enforced kidnappings of others in the country.

    Posted 4 years ago by Rupert Lum · Reply

  • When racial and religious discrimination is hardcoded into the system, that is where the racial and religious fault lines exist, and the country has no hope of surviving if they are not dismantled.
    Do that first.

    Posted 4 years ago by Arul Inthirarajah · Reply

  • Schools should be integrated and student populations should be diverse. Government should not use public funds for special interests but should not stop private funding to fund any type of schools they wish to Fund.

    Posted 4 years ago by H. Mokhtar · Reply

    • In order for anyone to excel, the choice to learn must be free and not be restricted. Science discoveries, technological achievements and even social human development all come from an environment where people are free to learn and to explore.

      Posted 4 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • This Mufti has never touched the ciuBtry constitution? I think police should ask him to make a statement in police station and recorded his argument on closing the vernacular schools and AG should charge him if he is found against y/eckaw if the country. Nobody is above the law, act on it or the educated Malaysians will lose trust on the govt.

    Posted 4 years ago by James Wong · Reply

  • against the law...Country.

    Posted 4 years ago by James Wong · Reply

  • The no. 1 culprit causing racial conflicts at this moment is Asri Zainul Abidin. He should be removed by the Ruler of Perlis as an imperative for racial harmony in this country.

    Posted 4 years ago by Panchen Low · Reply

  • He is yet another burden for IGP...

    Posted 4 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • This man of the cloth is shamelessly venturing into an area outside his area of expertise and offering an obviously biased opinion as though it warrants serious merit..which it obviously does not..

    Posted 4 years ago by Julian Nagelsmann · Reply