Dong Jiao Zong stands firm

PETALING JAYA: Educationist group Dong Jiao Zong will be chairing a meeting with the nation’s Chinese associations to protest the implementation of Jawi calligraphy in vernacular schools, according to Sin Chew Daily.

The meeting is scheduled to be held on Dec 28 with the aim of urging the government to do away with the module on Jawi script in vernacular schools.

The group has invited all Chinese associations to attend the meeting and urges the board of directors of vernacular schools to return the newest guidelines on the module to their respective state Education Departments as a sign of protest.

Under the new guidelines released last week, the module is to be implemented if 51% or more parents at a school agree to it.

At a press conference on Thursday, Dong Zong chairman Tan Tai Kim urged its respective state chapters to hold meetings with school boards and parent-teacher associations as well as campaign against the implementation of Jawi calligraphy by gathering signatures.

He added that Dong Zong rejected the new guidelines as they circumvent the authority of school boards in deciding school policies.

Tan pointed out that this goes against the Cabinet’s decision as well as the authority vested in school boards by the Education Act 1996.

“The Education Ministry’s policy to allow parents to decide on whether Jawi calligraphy is to be taught will not only sow disharmony among parents and students but also sideline the board of directors and the parent-teacher association, ” he said.

He added that the guidelines would also make the school boards lose their autonomy in deciding school policies.

Dong Jiao Zong, he said, will continue to oppose the new guidelines and is adamant that the schools’ board of directors be included as the decision makers.

Dong Jiao Zong is the umbrella body comprising Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees’ Association) and Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers’ Association).

On Nov 29, Dong Zong handed a memorandum to the ministry, urging it to include school boards as decision makers on the teaching of Jawi calligraphy in school.

The ministry had earlier announced that Jawi calligraphy would be introduced in the Bahasa Melayu subject for Year Four students starting next year.

The announcement caused uproar among various groups, which prompted the ministry to first give teachers in schools the power to decide whether they want to teach the calligraphy to pupils before passing the decision to parents in the latest guidelines.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong had previously stressed that Jawi calligraphy be made an optional topic in schools.

“We respect the cultural and artistic values of Jawi calligraphy, just like the Chinese and Tamil calligraphy, as our national heritage.

“MCA’s stance is that it should not be made compulsory but an elective or optional topic as how society wants it, ” he said.