The plight of Malaysian Chinese Education.

When politics get into roiling with education, that’s to say that the racist power that be, the wily kris brandisher Hishamuddin is on the verge of wining with his ‘divide and rule’ repertoire, a salvo which he plunged into the Chinese community and blasted all the remnant unity that had remained, into fragments! Sadly, amongst the diverse mentalities that all those even the so-called Chinese community leaders have got such a wide split and fission, though in the round table conference, discordant ideas prevail and irresolvable! This exactly is what happening now, in the ballyhoo of debating whether English should be continued to be used as the teaching media for Mathematics and Science in the vernacular schools! Some propounded that it’s a wise move of the Ministry, some opposed to the contrary, the DJZ (Chinese educationists) in particular, has shown its stance that they will not budge and insisted that in primary school level, Mathematics and Science subjects should be taught in the mother-tongue language – Mandarin, a media which will ensure the kids, prior to enroll into the schools, have fluent with the spoken mother-tongue language which will cut any barrier in terms of understanding the subjects taught with the language they have already familiar, this is a powerful argument!

Without derogating the importance of English as an important universally recognized and widely used language in the social economical environment, DJZ has proposed that English should be taught as a subject with enhanced teaching methodology ensure to equip the naïve students with proper proficiency in English, when promoted to Secondary level, they will have no problem to the paradigm shift of learning Mathematics and Science subjects in English, meaning, Mathematics and Science should only be taught in English at the Secondary School level. This defer tactics is somewhat considered, as according to the educationists, will allow sufficient time for the Ministry to prepare for standard software and sourcing of competent teachers, well versed in English, to conduct a much more professional and quality nurturing process to build up meritorious students whom, they are able to adapt into the system and learn proper English with reasonably high standard! This is again another convincing argument taking into consideration the present much have been adulterated type of English, which is casting an image that Malaysian English is peculiar of local accent and native slang!

Be it one has indulged in either Chinese or English educated, we are all Chinese! The only difference is our mindset mentalities and the experience in lives we have gone through. When the chips are running low, we are faced with the politicians with racist agenda, we must be vigilant enough to learn to endure with each other, to agree to disagree and find a pivotal point of balance between the splits! For the facts of life in the Country is, the more splintered we are, the more vulnerable we are to be incarcerated in the evil plot of the racists, UMNO in particular! They are the politicians whom they learned from their forefather British mentor to harp on the archaic policies - to divide and rule! The minority could easily be suppressed and controlled which is the belief which also concurred to Mao Tze-tung’s ideology, UMNO have learned it, practicing it!

Critics have they spoken! The concerns of the old doyen Chinese educationists, their reputation has been smeared so thick blue and had been tagged ‘chauvinist’, stubborn and recalcitrant, by the racist politicians who are no better than the real chauvinists themselves! They are so-called the parish pump politicians, much more parochial in mindsets and bigoted! Despite all plights, the old doyens are in defense of the cultures of the old grandfathers, which they have believes and loves as though which are heir looms as precious as the Chinese blood! They have had their points to be steadfast and behave intransigent for as long as survival is concerned! They are protecting it, the Chinese education, as if they are protecting their own lives in perpetual to their next & next future generations, and this is enshrined in the Fed Constitutions! Their struggle is not baseless, for they have seen the needs of the same creed and that results have been proven, the education system they are professing works and worked out many umpteen meritocrats, whom today benefit! With the globalize trend, China has become one of the economic giant in the planet, Chinese language to become influential as the world’s second language is something near to be seen and looming!

They too see the advantage for Malaysian children, we have English educated Chinese and if both could be entwined into a fabric of better resilience and value, why should it be destroyed by the autarchic power that be, which ultimately will foredoom our children into isolation and get lost in the turbulent red ocean competition! Aren’t we talking about the blue ocean ideology and concept nowadays amongst the global citizenry?!

Many English educated Malaysian Chinese may have a misconception and ill-perception over the Chinese educated brethren, hereof I apologize if my use of ‘bananaman’ was felt to be insulting and offensive; I have no whatsoever intention to be biased and I respect those with their choice of rights to education, the important thing is, be whatever differences we have in religion and education and even lifestyle, we are all homogeneous, we are all flown with Chinese blood. Do you and our Malay brethrens agree, assimilation of different genes into unification of character or demeanor is totally out of issue and granted impossible! Apartheid is out of place in this globe, more so in Malaysia, a pluralistic and multi-ethnics society!

Respect begets more respects, we must admit the fact that we are multi-racial and multiculturalism in reality and in decree, to live in harmony we ought to encompass and embrace all differences, tolerance is the key word!

The issue of unity via education sounds noble but it’s a sheer political histrionic, more so it’s a tool tainted with ‘Mahathirism’ venom! Think sensibly, who was the culprit he intended to synchronize us with one single language when he and the cohorts were sending their children to Japan, Germany and London to be ‘Westernized’ and ‘Europeanized’ and study multi-lingual languages? After the standard of English was found to be deteriorating, whereby it was their plan initially as an creation of ‘mediocracy policy’ and more mediocrity would enhance their supremacy which, they in their whims and fancies, is an elixir to their power grips, in perpetuity - he/they are now strident-cry, English is as important as was his PM post! What a freak!

We should not engage amongst ourselves unduly in all these rant and rave and befallen into the political conspiracy of kill in carnage by using the Chinese chopper, the yielder will be UMNO! When UMNO successfully politicize the issue for the ulterior motive to regain the defected dissidents into fold, that is the time we will lose bad in chips!…What benefit we will then afford to have for our/your children, by and large, the next generation in succession?!