Press Statement

by Lim Guan Eng

(Petaling Jaya, Friday): DAP strongly condemns the textbook introduced by all public universities for the compulsory subject, Ethnic Relations, that is mandatory for university students beginning this year’s academic session. Instead of fostering inter-communal ties it will only serve to drive race relations further apart. The Higher Education Ministry Should direct all public universities to withdraw the textbook for the subject ethnic relations which is divisive, extremist, full of falsehoods that is contrary to national interest because it creates hatred amongst races.

Amongst the falsehoods that serves to create hatred are:-

·     In the chapter ‘Political development in the context of ethnic relations: Current developments,’ the book referred to the call for a non-discriminatory affirmative action policy by the Malaysian Chinese Election Appeals Committee (Suqiu) as “extremist” pointing out that “Such (extremist) demands should no longer exist, in order to defend the harmony that has so far been experienced and to preserve the relations and cooperation between the various races in Malaysia”.

·     Blaming non-Malays for causing all the racial conflicts in Malaysia’s history such as the May 13 riots and the Kampung Medan incident. DAP was blamed as a Chinese-majority party that had ‘upset the Malays’ and contributed to the 1969 May 13 tragedy with the words “...the DAP, which is made up mostly of Chinese, conducted a procession in Kuala Lumpur in which they insulted and uttered statements that upset the Malays.” As for the 2001 Kampung Medan incident, the textbook blamed Indian youths The Malay community in the said area had lost their patience with the anti-social attitude of groups of Indian youths and wanted to teach them a lesson...”

This is false and worse appears to justify the killings of non-Malays in the 1969 May 13 riots and Indians in the Kampung Medan incident in 2001. At a time when the government is talking about academic freedoms and greater liberalizations by amending the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) to allow university students to participate in politics, such lies in a mandatory subject for university students is unacceptable and irresponsible.

DAP Did Not Start The 1969 May 13 Riots, Suqiu Is Not Extremist And Indian Youths Are Not To Be Blamed For The 2001 Kampung Medan Incident.

DAP avows that DAP did not start the 1969 May 13 riots, Suqiu is not extremist and Indian youths are not to be blamed for the 2001 Kampung Medan incident. Even Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner and noted historian Prof Dr Khoo Kay Kim supported DAP’s innocence in Malaysiakini. Professor Dr Khoo said “it was BN coalition member Gerakan and not DAP which had participated in the procession that triggered the 1969 riots”. Clearly DAP had nothing to do with the May 13 riots which was clearly started when UMNO members started a riot.

Professor Dr Khoo also said that Suqui do not see themselves as extremists as it legitimate for them to ask for certain things and asked how can you bring people together if you start blaming people. Khoo also took issue with the text’s selective presentation of history by focusing solely on the role of ruling party Umno and the Independence of Malaya Party set up in 1946 and 1951, respectively without taking into account of the contributions by other Malaysians.

No mention is made of the various corruption scandals or the close relationship between Deputy Ministers who were communist spies and after their release were then appointed to top posts in UMNO-controlled media organizations. Clearly Ethnic Relations is not intended to improve ethnic harmony but a propaganda exercise continuing the divide and rule policies of BN by stressing the dominance of one community, the fault of other communities and the contributions of BN and UMNO.

DAP MPs will raise these issues in Parliament to demand such gross distortions of history and perversion of the truth be removed from the university syllabus. Liberalising the UUCA is clearly a gimmick and a sham when only a biased and discriminatory syllabus is allowed in universities.

(14/07/2006)