by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Friday, June 17, 1994:
MCA General Assembly this weekend should take a clear-cut stand to oppose the Barisan Nasional Government’s ‘ultimate objective’ in its National Education Policy
The meeting between the MCA Youth delegation and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, on Tuesday, raises the vexing question in the minds of most Malaysians whether the MCA Youth was sincere and serious about the issues they had raised or was merely playing ‘polities’ solely for the forthcoming general elections.
In fact, from the subsequent comments of the Prime Minister and in particular the UMNO Secretary-General and Information Minister, Datuk Mohamed Rahmat, it is clear that they were aware that the main purpose of the dialogue requested by the MCA Youth delegation was primarily motivated by the forthcoming general elections rather than a serious attempt to raise and resolve outstanding problems.
For instance, how can the Prime Minister and the top UMNO leadership be convinced about the seriousness of MCA concerns about Chinese primary schools when these issues had never been raised by the national MCA leadership, or by the MCA, Deputy Education Minister or by the four MCA Cabinet Ministers?
Dr. Mahathir must have noted that in the dialogue, known to all as a ‘general elections exercise’, the MCA Youth delegation had conspicuously omitted raising the important issue of the status and future of Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and their right to regular financial allocation from the Federal Government as set by the precedent in Sabah.
The MCA General Assembly this weekend should take a clear-cut, stand to oppose the Barisan Nasional’s ‘ultimate objective’ in its National Education Policy and to demand its total repeal.
So long as the ‘ultimate objective’ of the National Education Policy of the Barisan Nasional Government remains intact, there can be no sure guarantee whether for Chinese primary schools or Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.