Call on Hishammuddin to make public the number and particulars of new Chinese and Tamil primary schools to be built next year under the 2007 Budget – whether it is another zero

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Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Petaling Jaya Thursday) :  Many woke up this morning feeling good that  “the black clouds have disappeared” with  a sense “everything is fine” when they read the front-page headline reports in the Chinese newspapers on the announcement by the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein that two Chinese primary schools would be built under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), seeming to put to rest the public outrage and disgust of the past week at the revelation by the Deputy Education Minister Datuk Noh Omar in Parliament that no new Chinese and Tamil primary would be built under the 9MP.

Why then is the DAP organizing a forum tonight about “Chinese education crisis”? Is there any Chinese education crisis?

I had announced last weekend my intention to move an unprecedented motion in Parliament when it reconvenes in November to resume its debate on the 2007 Budget – a censure motion of RM10 salary-cut not just for Education Minister but also the two Deputy Education Ministers, Noh Omar and Datuk Hon Choon Kim and the Parliamentary Secretary P. Komala Devi for their collective neglect and irresponsibility in  failing to provide for the building of new Chinese and Tamil primary schools in the 2007 Budget and the Ninth Malaysia Plan to meet educational and increased enrolment needs.

Such a motion will be setting a “parliamentary record” of sorts, for up to now, a censure RM10 salary-cut had been directed at only one front-bencher but never against more than one at one time – and this motion will be directed at four front-benchers in the Education Ministry.

When I first heard the news last night  that the Education Minister had announced that two Chinese primary schools would be built under the 9MP, I told myself that I would now have to reconsider whether to proceed with the unprecedented RM10 salary-cut motion against Hishammuddin, Noh Omar, Hon and Komala Devi when the Education Ministry’s RM22.2 billion estimates is debated on November 27.

Who should be thanked  for Hishammuddin’s announcement?  Is he Hishammuddin  because we have a very enlightened and broadminded Education Minister, Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for his recent comment on the marginalization of the Chinese in Malaysia which had created a furore among Barisan Nasional leaders or Noh Omar for his revelation in Parliament last Wednesday that no Chinese and Tamil primary schools would be built under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

I believe the person who should be thanked for forcing this issue into the public domain should be the DAP MP for Ipoh Barat M. Kulasegaran who cornered Noh Omar to reveal the Education Ministry’s Ninth Malaysia Plan agenda and turned it into a public issue.

It is the unstated policy of the Education Ministry not to build new Chinese and Tamil primary schools under the five-year plans to meet the enrolment and educational needs of school children whose parents want them to be in these schools – the only exception is when the issue is used to fish for votes during general elections  with the promises of a handful of new Chinese primary schools.

However, nobody has been able in the past to get the Barisan Nasional government to publicly admit such an unstated policy, although DAP MPs had ceaselessly and untiringly tried  all these years. 

During the winding-up of the Ninth Malaysia Plan in April for instance, DAP MP for Bukit Mertajam Chong Eng tried to get the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to  give a commitment on the number of new Chinese and Tamil primary schools under the new five-year plan, but  Abdullah evaded with the vague reply that new schools would be built according to need.

A breakthrough in Parliament  was achieved last Wednesday when Kulasegaran hit the jackpot and   forced the truth out of Noh Omar during the winding-up of the Education Ministry in the 2007 Budget policy debate.  

I have just received the Hansard of the parliamentary debate on 20^th April 2006 which recorded the parliamentary exchanges over Noh Omar’s admission of  the Barisan Nasional’s “unstated policy”:

“Tuan M. Kula Segaran (Ipoh Barat):  Soalan saya yang spesifik yang saya bangkitkan adalah dimanakah di negara ini sekolah-sekolah baru Cina, sekolah-sekolah baru Tamil akan dibina? Saya ada bangkitkan mengenai perkara tersebut.

“Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Di dalam Rancangan Malaysia yang Kesembilan ini memang tidak ada.  Kita dalam perancangan kita hanya memberi peruntukan-peruntukan untuk sekolah SJKT dan juga SJKC tidak ada kita perancangan untuk membuat bangunan-bangunan baru. Tetapi saya hendak beritahu Yang Berhormat peruntukan yang kita beri untuk Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan ini ialah sebanyak RM100 juta atau tiga kali ganda daripada apa yang kita peruntukkan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kelapan. Jadi kita akan memberikan bantuan-bantuan untuk ubah suai, pembesaran dan sebagainya. Jadi saya ingat perutukan yang RM100 juta ini tahun ini sahaja untuk 2006, kita telah pun peruntukkan sebanyak RM21 juta dan senarai di mana sekolah yang hendak dibuat telah pun kita putuskan.

“Tuan M. Kula Segaran:  Jadi dasar kerajaan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan tidak ada sekolah baru Cina dan Tamil akan dibina langsung? Itulah pendirian kerajaan?

“Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Setakat dalam senarai yang dibawa dalam Kementerian Pelajaran tidak ada.

“Tuan M. Kula Segaran: ….Kenapa kerajaan tidak ingin membina satu sekolah baru bukan  tempatd di Bercham sahaja, di seluruh Malaysia di mana ada situasi di mana ramai di antara masyarakat ingin menghantar anak mereka sekolah Tamil dan sekolah Cina.

“Macam saya telah mengatakan di seluruh Malaysia lebih kurang setiap tahun sekarang ada 20% setiap tahun kenaikan murid-murid di sekolah Tamil macam mana kita boleh ada situasi untuk mengatasi masalah ini?

“Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Yang Berhormat sebab itu kita kata dasar kita ialah untuk memperkasakan sekolah kebangsaan. Kita mula memperkasakan sekolah kebangsaan kita tukar sebab kita perkenalkan mata pelajaran Tamil, mata pelajaran Cina di sekolah-sekolah kebangsaan ini. Tarafnya…

“Tuan M. Kula Segaran: Sudah anak tirikan sekolah Tamil dan sekolah Cina. Itulah dasar kerajaan memperkasakan sekolah kebangsaan, anak tirikan sekolah Tamil dan sekolah Cina itu dasar kerajaan.

“Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Yang Berhormat kalau kita menganak tirikan sekolah Cina dengan sekolah Tamil kita tidak tambah peruntukan RMK-9 tiga kali ganda daripada RMK-8 itu pun Yang Berhormat tidak boleh hendak faham jua?

“Tuan Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timor): Penjelasan.   Daripada tadi Yang Berhormat Timbalan Menteri kata bahawa dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kemsembilan tidak akan ada apa-apa sekolah baru sekolah Cina atau sekolah Tamil bukankah ini satu dasar yang tidak adil yang discriminatory?....Bagaimana kerajaan boleh ambil satu pendirian ini apabila ada menteri-menteri MCA, Gerakan dan MIC dalam Kabinet. Bagaimana mereka boleh bersetuju bukankah ini satu betrayal rakyat bukan sahaja kaum-kaum yang berkenaan tetapi juga betrayal kepentingan rakyat Malaysia tidak kira kaum apa-apa untuk keadilan dan kesaksamaan.

“Dato’ Haji Noh bin Haji Omar: Tuan Yang di Pertua, saya kata pembangkang ini tidak faham.  Saya sudah beritahu tadi bahawa kita sudah beri keadilan. Yang Berhormat kalau beri perkara seperti seolah-olah kita memberi diskriminasi, adakah Yang Berhormat kalau betul-betul jujur dan iklhas ada 15 SJKC murid bawah 10 orang. Adakah Yang Berhormat sanggup kata tutup 10 ini?

“Tuan Lim Kit Siang:  Ini perkara yang lain. Kenapa sekolah-sekolah ada classroom dengan 53, 60 orang? Mahu banding dengan sekolah-sekolah nasional, berapa? Ada sekolah-sekolah nasional yang ada classroom yang kosong. Kenapa bukankah ini satu  diskriminasi? Kenapa dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan tidak akan ada sekolah baru adakah kena tunggu sehingga  election baru menjadi gimmick untuk dapat pengundi-pengundi? Bukankah ini satu propanganda satu langkah satu sikap tipu helah yang tidak bertanggunjawab?”

During this exchange, MCA, MCA Youth, Gerakan and MIC MPs were present but none of them uttered a single word!  They just remained bystanders!

I don’t think anyone believe the excuse given by Hishammuddin that Noh Omar did not know that two  new Chinese primary schools would be built under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, as Noh Omar was not contradicted for a week – whether by Hishammuddin, Hon Choon Kim who should have known or the MCA Ministers.

Now public disappointment and even disgust have  set in as it is now  known that the so-called two new Chinese primary schools referred to by  Hishammuddin are actually one relocated new school,  SJCK Kulai (2) in Johore, which  had been promised in the past seven years since before the 1999 general election and a Wawasan School, SJK© Tun Tan Siew Sin in Putra Heights, Selangor.

This is just not good enough. In the March/May meeting of Parliament, Hishammuddin had said  that the Education Ministry had finalized the full list of education development projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.  He had said in a written answer:

“Dalam RMK-9, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM) telah merancang  projek sekolah baru, tambahan dan gantian bilik darjah di kawasan yang padat penduduk.   Walau bagaimanapun, pelaksanaan projek-projek tersebut adalah tertakluk kepada kelulusan peruntukan mengikut keperluan dan keutamaan KPM.”

I call on the Education Minister to make public:

• The full list of school development projects planned for the Ninth Malaysia Plan; and

• The number and particulars of the new Chinese and Tamil primary schools to be built next year under the 2007 Budget, or whether it is another zero.

When  Abdullah became Prime Minister, he had promised an open, accountable and transparent government.  If Hishammuddin is committed to Abdullah’s pledge of open, accountable and transparent governance, he should have no problem in  responding positively to my two calls.

When this forum was organized, the focus was actually on the Hishammuddin-Ong Tee Kiat kerfuffle over  the expose of abuses of funds in school repairs as in the case of the SJKC Kung Yu where only RM3,000 worth of work had been done in a RM30,000 school repair project – or the pocketing of up  to  90% of development  allocations.

In the first place, what business had the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapha to apologise for his deputy minister when Ong had consistently  maintained that he had not done anything  wrong.  Mustapha should withdraw his apology to Hishammuddin on behalf of Ong, as it was made without Ong’s consent or subsequent endorsement.

It is most shocking that the Ministry of Internal  Security had directed all Chinese media to stop publishing exposes of similar abuses of public funds and leakages in other Chinese primary schools, resulting in news report about similar abuses of public funds in the repairs for SRJKC Sin Bin in Klang, Selangor being blacked out in the Chinese  press on Monday’s morning edition after it was given prominent treatment in the previous day’s evening edition.

Online Chinese media, Merdeka Review, had published an exclusive of  the warning letter by the Internal Security Ministry  to the Chinese media imposing a clampdown on reports about abuses of school repair funds.

The letter, titled “Penyiaran Berita Mengenai Isu Timbalan Menteri Tinggi, Datuk Ong Tee Keat”, read:

“2. Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri ingin menarik perhatian tuan berhubung penyiaran berita rencana serta ulasan akhbr-akhbar harian berbahasa Cina arus perdana tempatan mengenai isu Timbalan Menteri Pengajian Tinggi, Datuk Ong Tee Keat berhubung peruntukan sekolah jenis kebangsaan Cina (SJKC).

“3.Berdasarkan kepada pemerhatian Kementerian ini, isu ini telah disiarkan dan diperbesarbesarkan oleh pihak akhbar sehingga menimbulakan salah faham dan mengelirukan pembaca sedangkan perkara ini telah pun selisai berikutan Menteri Pengajian Tinggi YB Datuk Mustapha Mohamed telah memohon maaf kepada Menteri Pelajaran YB Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

“4. Pendekatan pihak akhbar memanipulasi dan mengsensasikan isu ini adalah dikhuatiri boleh mewujudkan kesangsian dan kehilangan keyakinan rakyat dan masyarakt terhadap Kerajaan dalam menyelesaikan masalah rakyat. Sehubungan itu, Kementerian ini ingin mendapatkan kerjasama daripada akhbar tuan agar dengan serta-merta berhenti daripada membangkitkan isu berkenaan.

“5. Kerjasama dan sokongan tuan dalam perkara ini amatlah dihargai dan diucapkan ribuan terima kasih.”

The Chinese press had  no choice but to toe the line to  “co-operate” with the directive of Internal Security Ministry to “immediately” stop publishing such reports,

This is an unprecedented and  intolerable interference by the Internal Security Ministry with press freedom, especially in the era of Abdullah premiership which had promised a government which  is prepared to “hear the truth” from the people,  the restoration of the lost freedom and fundamental rights of the previous Mahathir administration and an all-out war against corruption, abuses of public funds and all forms of malpractices.

The government should be encouraging the press to expose all other cases of hijacking of public funds as in the case of the SJKC Kudng Fu, but also all other development projects in view of the mammoth development allocations of RM220 billion under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to help fight corruption and abuses of public funds, and not to impose a blackout of such exposes by the press.

The Internal Security Ministry letter was signed by Che Din bin Yusoh on behalf of the Ministry Secretary-General Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.  Disciplinary action should be taken against Che Din or Abdul Aziz or both for straying into matters completely outside their purview and violating the Prime Minister’s public commitment for a free press and a clean and incorruptible government. I will pursue this matter when Parliament reconvenes.

A Parliamentary Roundtable will be held  in Parliament next Wednesday, 11^th October, 2006 on the subject of “New Chinese/Tamil primary schools under Ninth Malaysia Plan”.  The Parliamentary Roundtable co-ordinator is  Chong Eng MP for Bukit Mertajam. All political parties, educational bodies and  NGOs concerned about education will be invited to the Parliamentary Roundtable.

We should make clear to the Barisan Nasional government that new Chinese and Tamil primary schools should be built according to need – but it must be the educational and increased enrolment needs for these schools and not the political or electioneering needs of the Barisan Nasional parties.

(28/09/2006)