Press Digest - Chinese community urged to reject DLP

PETALING JAYA: Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees Association) urged the Chinese community to reject the Dual Language Programme (DLP) to prevent the erosion of the characteristics of Chinese national-type schools (SJKC)
According to the Education Ministry, DLP, which saw a pilot project involving 300 primary schools this year, is aimed at "empowering Bahasa Malaysia and strengthening English".
However, Dong Zong president Datuk Vincent Lau said it is part of the efforts to fulfil the ministry's ultimate aim to implement a single stream education system in Malaysia, China Press reported today.
Once Chinese schools join the programme, they risk having their characteristic eroded anytime, he said.
He said at present, 900 minutes is allocated for Chinese language lessons a week but it would be reduced to 600 minutes under DLP.
Not only that, the ministry will have the excuse to post more teachers with no knowledge of Chinese to these schools, he said.
"By then, SJKCs will lose its characteristic of having Mandarin as the medium of instruction," Lau said at the installation of Malacca Dong Lian Hui's (state Chinese school committees association) new office-bearers on Saturday night.
At the same function, Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers Association) president Ong Kow Yee said: "We are against DLP not because we don't want to raise the standard of English among Chinese school pupils."
"In fact, Dong Zong is very concerned about these pupils' grasp of the English language. But the problem has to be dealt with at the root."
He stressed that accepting DLP will leave a gap in the wall that protects the characteristics of SJKCs.
He urged main Chinese groups such as Hua Zong (Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia), Seven Major Chinese Clans Association and Malaysian Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universities to be firm in rejecting the implementation of DLP in SJKCs.