Speech by DAP Organising Secretary and Parliamentary Candidate for Bandar Melaka, Mr. Lim Kit Siang, at a DAP Public Rally at Ayer Salak, Bukit Rambai, on 30th April 1969:
On May 10, when the voters go to cast their votes, they will also decide whether they endorse the ‘one nation, one language’ education policy of the exponents of a Malay Malaysia, and Indonesia Malaysia or the education policy of the advocates of Malaysian Malaysia.
The Alliance, through Mr. Koh Kim Leng’s Abdul Rahman Talib Education Report of 1960, has declared unequivocally that the Alliance want to close down all Chinese, Tamil and English schools, both at primary and secondary levels, and convert them into purely Malay schools.
The Party Rakyat’s education policy is exactly the same as the Alliance’s ‘one nation, one language’ education policy. The Party Rakyat in fact fully supports Mr. Koh Kim Leng’s Abdul Rahman Talib Education Report.
In its 1969 General Elections Manifesto, the Party Rakyat declared that they want “an education system with Malay as the main medium, use Malay as a medium for as many subjects as possible, abolish the teaching of English as a subject at primary level, encourage the learning of languages of the people, provide other international and scientific languages like French, Russian, German and Chinese as subjects at secondary level.”
Clearly, in the eyes of the Party Rakyat, the Chinese language comes well after French, Russian and German languages! In other words, the Party Rakyat will not agree to the teaching of Chinese language in secondary schools until and unless Russian, French and German languages are taught.
It is very clear that the Party Rakyat will oppose the Chinese language being used, not only as a media of instruction in schools, but as a media of examination as well.
The Party Rakyat stands fully behind the Alliance’s education policy, as expressed in Mr.Koh Kim Leng’s Abdul Rahman Talib Education Report, to destroy Chinese, Tamil and English schools. Both the Rakyat and the Alliance want only Malay schools to exist in the country. Both also oppose Chinese becoming an official language.
A vote therefore for either the Alliance and the Party Rakyat is a vote for the destruction of Chinese, Tamil and English schools.
We in the DAP condemn the Alliance and Party Rakyat education policy, which do not recognize Malaysia as a multi-racial, multi0lingual and multi-cultural nation.
The DAP advocates a ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ education policy, which will permit the different language-media schools to grow and develop, so that every Malaysian child can choose in what language he wants to be taught and educated – while all learning Malay as a compulsory second language.
We can see from a part’s education policy what type of Malaysian society it is fighting for. The Alliance is fighting for Malay Malaysia, because it wants all Chinese, English and Tamil schools to die. The Party Rakyat is fighting either for a Malay Malaysia or an Indonesia Malaysia, because it also wants all Chinese, Tamil and English schools to die. Only the DAP is opposed to them – for we want all languages and language schools to live, for we want a Malaysian Malaysia.