Press Statement
by DAP Secretary General and MP for Kota Melaka, Kerk Kim Hock
in Petaling Jaya
on Saturday, October 12, 2002
Seditious article on UMNO online: Call on the Education Minister to immediately
rebut the irresponsible, offensive and baseless allegations
Two days ago, I have lodged a police report at the Kuala Lumpur Tun HS Lee
Police Station against Datuk Ibrahim Ali, the UMNO Pasir Mas Divison Chairman,
for making statements which have a tendency to promote ill feelings or hostility
among the different races in the country.
In an article titled " Cina DAP Hasut Cina MCA Jangan Setuju Guna Bahasa
Inggeris " that has appeared in the UMNO on line, Ibrahim Ali has not only made
baseless allegations against the DAP, he has also made statements which are
calculated to promote ill feelings or hostility among the different races.
However, what is worse is that he has made baseless allegations which has
tarnished the image of the Education Ministry and questioned the integrity of
Chinese teachers.
Among the baseless allegations made by him in the article in relation to the
government's proposal to teach English in Mathematics and Science subjects are:
his allegation that Chinese worry about the proposal because they fear their examination papers will be marked by Malay teachers
his allegation that the Chinese community have opposed the government's proposal so as to cover up the decline in the Chinese students' academic performance
his allegation that Chinese teachers have allowed Chinese students who have failed their examinations pass with excellent results
As the article has appeared in the UMNO on line, the official website of UMNO,
it will give rise to the impression that there is some basis as to what he
claims, unless UMNO is prepared to say that it is not responsible for the truth
and accuracy of articles which appear on its website.
Hence, I call upon the Education Minister Tan Sri Musa Mohamad to immediately
rebut the baseless allegations of the article so as to protect the image of the
Education Ministry and the integrity of the Chinese teachers.
There have been UMNO leaders and Malay educationists who have misled the public
by falsely claiming that the Bumiputra student enrolment in the private
institutions of higher learning in the country is 10 to 15 % when the fact is
that it is 40 %. After clarification made by the Education Minister at this
year's UMNO Congress, no one has continued to engage in such irresponsible acts
of misleading the public with inaccurate figures.
In view of the seriousness of the baseless allegations made by Datuk Ibrahim
Ali, the Education Minister Tan Sri Musa must immediately come out with a clear
and strong rebuttal against such irresponsible, offensive and baseless
allegations.