Vernacular schools play major role in nation-building, unity

I HUMBLY urge Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to stop his continuous inflammatory statements which bring no value to national unity.

It is most regrettable that he has to make a seditious statement in calling for the abolishment of vernacular schools, which are part of the national school system.

They are funded by the Federal Government, unlike private schools, and they have existed since independence.

The Chinese primary schools, for example, have over 100,000 Malays, Indians and other bumiputras, and like Indian primary schools, they play a major role in nation-building.

I invite Dr Mahathir to visit these schools for himself and see their attributes to national unity in their programme and syllabus.

The best talents have graduated from these primary schools and they are occupying high positions in government and the private sector.

As a result of the existence of these schools, Malaysians have been able to have a grasp of Mandarin and Tamil, which are linguistic assets.

One reason why Malays and Indians send their children to these vernacular schools, for six years of primary education, is because they want their children to learn Mandarin, or Tamil in Tamil schools.

China and India are major economies and it is something we must understand, and when our children are able to speak these languages, they become marketable and sought after.

Bahasa Malaysia is highly emphasised in our schools.

Dr Mahathir, unfortunately, has chosen to see everything from a racial angle, to ensure he is in the news.

Dr Mahathir, at 98, should play the role of bringing Malaysians together instead of creating division.

With respect, we like to know if his grandchildren attend private or international schools or if they are in our sekolah kebangsaan, like the rest of Malaysians.

I had great hesitation in wanting to respond to Dr Mahathir but a rebuttal is necessary for putting the record straight.

It is most unfortunate that Dr Mahathir still refers to Malaysians, who are not Malays, as "pendatang" as we celebrate the nation's 66th anniversary.

Let me quote American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, who said "We all come in different ships but we are in the same boat now."

That is the destiny of all Malaysians, regardless of our race and religion. We are all Malaysians.

It is not vernacular schools that cause national disunity but it is politicians like Dr Mahathir.

Datuk R. Ramanan

Sungai Buloh MP, Mitra special committee chairman