Najib’s opening speech at MCA AGM shows that he is not a Prime Minister for all Malaysians

During the MCA AGM yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak promised to increase the number of Chinese schools in the country and also help in the relocation of present Chinese schools.

In his speech, Najib said he had done so in the past as education minister and will continue to do so.

Najib was the Education Minister of our country in between 1995 to 1999. According to a report by The United Chinese School Teachers’ Association of Malaysia (UCSTAM 马来西亚华校教师会总会), the number of SJKC was reduced from 1290 in 1990 to 1284 in 2000 even though the number of students had increased from 581,082 to 623,343.[1] So how many new schools did Najib build when he was the Education Minister?

Not everyone got the second chance. But Najib is lucky. But the question is will he do the right thing this time, in his capacity as the Prime Minister of the nation?

Schools should be built according to needs. So instead of earmarking more lands for SJKC, Najib should just open up all reserved land for schools for all types of school, whether it is national schools or national-type schools. The current positions that school reserved lands are only meant for national schools should be reviewed and abolished. But, will Najib do so?

It is not the first time BN trying to fish vote by Chinese schools. In 2008, right before GE13, the then Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced 6 new SJKCs to be built. However even until today, SJKC Kajang 2 (加影新城华小) is not completed.

Using schools to fish votes shows that Najib is a cheapskate. Even controversial figure like Donald Trump also pledged to be presidents for all Americans in his victory speech. If Najib wants to be a Prime Minister for all Malaysians, he should treat all Malaysians equally, regardless of their race and religion. SJKC is not only a right for Chinese community because more than 15% of the students in SJKCs are non-Chinese.