(Petaling Jaya, Monday): Deputy Education Minister Dauk Hon Choon Khim might as well not be MCA Deputy Education Minister Minister if he dares not stand up against Education Minister Datuk Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn for being angry not at the “leakages” in Chinese primary schools but against those exposing this corruption scandal. Hishamuddin attacking MCA Vice-President Datuk Ong Tee Keat for supporting the board of directors exposing the scandal in 2 Chinese primary schools is shocking and highly irresponsible.

Instead of attacking the board of directors or Ong, the first main priority of Hishamuddin as Education Minister is to order a full and independent inquiry into this corruption scandal. The Board of Directors had exposed that the abuse of development funds to repair school buildings and treat white ants where a RM 30,000 development allocation for SJK© Kung Yu “changed” to only RM 3,000 whilst another RM 30,000 allocation to Ai Hwa Panchor “changed” to RM 6,000/-. In other words only 15% of the RM 60,000 was received raising questions what happened to remaining RM 51,000/-?

This leakage of 85% of development allocation is an indictment of shame, corruption and gross mismanagement by the Education Ministry. In a survey a few years back by the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Education Ministry was the worst government department with the highest number of complaints of abuse of power and corruption. This is to be expected as the Education Ministry received a lion share of the budget allocations as can be proven by the recent 2007 Budget allocation of RM 33.4 billion or 21% of the overall allocation.

As a person who claims to be one of the few leaders in UMNO who is clean and has integrity based on the good reputation established by his father Tun Hussein Onn and grandfather Datuk Onn Jaffar, Hishamuddin should fulfill expectations by throwing the full resources of his Ministry to identify the culprits. And not try to distract attention from the corruption scandal by attacking the whistleblowers who exposed this.

DAP regrets that Hon Choon Khim has neither defended the Chinese primary school board of director or his own MCA leader from being attacked by Hishamuddin nor boldly stand up to tell his Education Minister that he is wrong. Hon should tell Hishamuddin that he is wrong because he should support the Prime Minister’s anti-corruption campaign. Hishamuddin is wrong for saying that he need not explain through the press because a democratically elected Minister must be both accountable and transparent to the voters.

Hon is already a figure of ridicule for his gross inability and dereliction of duty to prevent the hijacking of development allocation of Chinese primary schools by irresponsible officials. He will lose the little respect left if he dares not stand up together with Ong, the Board of Directors for the 2 Chinese primary schools and the entire Chinese community at the unreasonable and discriminatory attitude of Hishamuddin.

Hon should have the courage to tell Hishamuddin that corruption scandal has angered the entire Chinese community at what they see as a systemastic pattern of official neglect and discrimination of Chinese education. The Chinese community is completely disillusioned  that the BN Government and Hishamuddin are more interested in those who expose the thiefs instead of catching the thiefs who stole the funds of Chinese schools.

Despite paying the bulk of taxes and contributing so much to the the country’s national economic development such efforts remain unappreciated. Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad even reminded Malays that Malaysia will be where they are today and Malays not enjoy the privileges and benefits of development if not for the taxes paid by the Chinese community.

Instead of giving back to the Chinese community by building new Chinese schools the government has continued its policies of discrimination and neglect. Under the Ninth Malaysian Plan, Chinese primary schools received only RM 174.3 million or 3.6% of the total allocation of primary schools despite having 21.2 % of students.

Justice and fairness requires Chinese primary schools to receive RM 1,025.5 million (21.2%) based on student population and not RM 174.3 million(3.6%). This shortfall of RM 851.2 million works out to only RM 4.50 per Chinese primary school student per month as compared to RM 33.30 per student per month for each national primary school student. The Chinese community can not be faulted for asking why should a national primary school student receive more than 7 times in development funds than a Chinese primary school student if everyone is a Malaysian citizen enjoying equal political rights. 

Hishamuddin should not be so naïve to think that the Chinese community is so gullible as to be satisfied with him “drawing biscuits to satisfy the hunger” of more Chinese primary schools and development allocation for existing ones. Hon should show that he is not equally guilty of “drawing biscuits to satisfy the hunger” only concerned about Ministerial posts  but be prepared to resign to demonstrate that the Chinese community is no longer interested in Hishamuddin drawing biscuits but wants real biscuits or real development allocations to eat.

(11/09/2006)