Najib: Chinese primary schools should not become subject of dispute

PETALING JAYA: Chinese primary schools should not become a subject of dispute as they have long been part of the national education system, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Najib said this when MCA brought to his attention the recent proposal by an Umno division leader to debate the abolishing of vernacular schools at the coming party general assembly.
MCA deputy president Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong told Sin Chew Daily that he and party chief Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai conveyed the displeasure of the Chinese community over the development during their meeting with Najib on Monday night.
He said the prime minister agreed that the existence of Chinese primary schools should no longer be disputed.
Najib also stressed that Chinese primary schools are already part of the national education system and that it is an unchangeable fact, said Wee.
"Why are we still bringing up this issue (of whether Chinese schools should continue to exist) at this era?" he asked.
Wee, who is a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said he believed that with Umno's top leadership making a clear stand, no call to close down Chinese primary schools would be made at the Umno general assembly.
He said MCA and Chinese education groups had, at a consultative meeting on Tuesday, maintained that not only should Chinese primary schools not be eliminated, they should instead be given more room to develop.
"Particularly at this point when the Chinese economy is soaring, no one will choose to abandon Chinese education.
"I believe Najib agrees with me on this point, lest why would he have sent his son Ji Ping (Norashman) to China to learn Chinese?"
Stressing that the government will not abolish Chinese primary school, Wee said, the remarks of some Umno grassroots leaders do not represent the stand of the government.
"If the government really wants to eliminate Chinese primary schools, why had it included these schools in the National Education Blueprint?" he asked.