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DAP to the Education Ministry – stop sowing seeds of hatred amongst our school children- stop the double standard in the granting of book loans   Press Statement by Ngeh Koo Ham (Ipoh, Tuesday): Racial discrimination is an injustice. Full stop. Injustice breeds anger and hatred. Full stop. And our Education Ministry is  practicing racial discrimination and sowing the seeds of anger and hatred among our school going children.  The application form for book loans states as follows:-   1.        Murid-murid Sekolah Kebangsaan dan Sekolah Menengah Agama Rakyat yang ibu bapa atau penjaga mereka berpendapatan RM2,000-00 ke bawah adalah layak menerima pinjaman buku teks tanpa mengira bilangan anak atau tanggungan. 2.         Murid-murid Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) dan Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) yang ibu bapa atau penjaga mereka berpendapatan RM1,000-00 ke bawah adalah layak menerima pinjaman buku teks tanpa mengira bilangan anak atau tanggungan.   (Summary of Translation: Children of National Schools are eligible if their parents have income of RM2,000-00 and below while children of Chinese and Tamil Schools are eligible if their parents have income of RM1,000-00 and below).   Even my 10 year old son can exclaimed ‘Why so unfair ah ?’ Why can’t the Education Ministry see  that this discrimination is totally unfair and goes against the very value of justice and fairness that we wish to impart to our children.   An education officer noted that the spate of crime that we see today is probably the result of the rapid development that our country experience in the last 20 years which caused many parents to neglect their children in their quest for material wealth.   20 years down the road, we will see a new generation of Malaysian who will think that racial discrimination and the practice of injustice are acceptable. We will be producing groupings similar to the American Ku Klux Klan in our midst.   Is the value of the ringgits earned by the parents in Chinese and Tamil schools worth more that the ringgit earned by parents of National Schools ? Or that the Chinese and Tamil children require only half the food compared with the children in National School to live?   The Education Ministry is not only sowing the seeds  of anger and hatred in the children, they are also sowing these seeds in the parents. How can be promote national unity which we hope to achieve through National Service which will costs our country billions of ringgit.   This policy is also unconstitutional. Article 8(1) of the Constitution provides that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.   Article 12(1) of the Federal Constitution states as follows:-   (1)   Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination  against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth – (a) in the administration of any educational institution maintained by a public authority, and, in particular, the admission of pupils or students or the payment of fees; or (b) in providing out of the funds of a public authority financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (whether or not maintained by a public authority and whether within or outside the Federation).   The DAP urges the Education Ministry to put a stop to this discriminatory policy immediately less we produce a generation who will accept racial discrimination and injustice as a norm.   (1/7/2003) * Ngeh Koo Ham,  DAP Perak Chairman