It was reported in yesterday’s Sin Chew Daily that Gerakan vice president Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai has cricicised DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang as not being consistent because he has recently challenged BN ministers to send their children to national schools when he himself had sent his own children to English schools.
Lau’s illogical attack clearly shows he was trying to divert attention from the real issue, that is if BN Ministers have low or no confidence in our national education system and policy?
Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir recently wrote that in 1971, the government abolished government secondary schools which taught in English. He also wrote that “But the ministers’ children, against national policy, started going to private schools and international schools which used English as the teaching medium.
Kit Siang has followed up on the issue and asked all the 33 Cabinet Ministers to reveal whether their children and grandchildren had been educated under the national education system or whether they are products of private and international schools, at home or abroad.
The issue involves the question if the Ministers have low or no confidence in our own national education.
Lau should know better that the English schools which Kit Siang‘s children attended were part of our national education system.
His attacks on Kit Siang are therefore wrong and also prove his ignorance about our national education system.
Lau has also questioned why since Kit Siang has been championing the interest of the Chinese primary school and independent Chinese secondary schools, yet he did not send his children to such schools.
Gerakan has always portrayed itself as a party that also champions the interest of such schools though in reality they have not done a good job as a government partner.
I wish to ask Lau two basic questions:-
- Did all Gerakan leaders and members send their children to Chinese primary schools and independent Chinese secondary schools?
- Is it a Gerakan policy that only those who have sent their children to such schools are qualified to champion the interest of such schools?
DAP is a multi racial party and our party leaders and members, regardless of race, support and champion such schools because the right to learn one‘s mother tongue is enshrined in the Constitution and also because of our firm stand that the government’s educational policies must be fair and just to all schools.
Instead of trying to divert attention from the real issue, Lau and Gerakan should question Umno president Dato Seri Najib why single stream schools versus vernacular schools has been made one of the main debate topics in the upcoming Umno General Assembly.