by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 26th August 1990:
Is Keng Yaik Saying that Anwar Ibrahim had been lying when the latter repeatedly said that the Education Minister would retain the power to close down schools although Section 21(1) of the 1961 Education Act is repealed.
Gerakan President and Primary Industry Minister, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik said yesterday that when Section 21(2) of the Education Act 1961 is repealed, the Education Minister would not have the power to close down Chinese primary schools.
For the past few months, the Education Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, had repeatedly declared especially to Malay groups, that although the Barisan Nasional Government would repeal Section 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act, the Education Minister would reserve in his hands the final powers to close down schools.
This means that although Section 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act would be repealed, the Section 21(2) powers would remain in the hands of the Education Minister.
Is Keng Yaik saying that Anwar Ibrahim had been lying when he had repeatedly claimed that although Section 21(2) of the Education Act 1961 would be repealed, the Education Minister would retain the power to close down primary schools ‘in the national interest’?
MCA and Gerakan Ministers had repeatedly said that the new Education Act 1990 will give a new and good deal to Chinese education. If this is the case, why is it that the Gerakan and MCA Ministers are so opposed to making public the present draft of the Education Bill 1990?
Earlier this month, the Gerakan made a policy stand that it is opposed to making public the contents of
the Education Bill 1990 before the next general elections. This is confirmation of the DAP’s suspicion that the Consultative Council on the Education Act 1990 is an undemocratic political ploy by the UMNO, MCA and Gerakan to deny the voters the right to know the details of the new education law during the general elections.
If the purpose of the Consultative Council on the Education Act 1990, is to deny the voters their basic right to know the Barisan Nasional government’s proposal for a new education law, then the Cabinet and the Education Minister do not have good and democratic motives in establishing this Council.