MCA: Dong Zong mislabelled ‘racist’, DAP's Teo must answer

MCA's national youth chairperson Nicole Wong Siaw Ting is upset that Chinese educationist group Dong Zong has been labelled racist by prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad - and she's pointing the finger at DAP's Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching (photo, above).

"Chinese educationist group Dong Zong’s noble effort of defending the Chinese education system by rejecting khat calligraphy has been shot down by Prime Minister Mahathir with labels of racism.

"In this exchange, the role of DAP cannot be discounted, especially Teo, who has made ambiguous and vague statements following the meetings with Dong Zong and stakeholders, leading to Dong Zong being misconstrued as the racist scapegoat," she said in a statement today.

Wong claimed that in the many discussion sessions held between Dong Zong and the Education Ministry, the educationist group has always clearly given their stand that the rejection of khat is unrelated to any racial motives, but due to it being unsuitable to be forcefully implemented as a part of the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus in primary vernacular schools.

She claimed that if the narrative has reached Mahathir that Dong Zong is racist, the issue must have stemmed from the middle-person.

"More than two weeks have passed since the controversy started, yet DAP cabinet ministers have not been able to voice out the frustration of the masses, causing the Cabinet to get the impression that the majority of the people have accepted khat, with Dong Zong as the vocal minority, ultimately giving Mahathir a biased view of Dong Zong."

Wong said that if Teo and other DAP ministers had chosen to band together to protest against khat, it would have led to a consensus on the issue.

She said they should have brought "the people’s voice into the field of discussion in a clear and concise manner, emphasising the need to uphold the Chinese education integrity."

"Dong Zong has stood for Chinese education since Merdeka, fighting alongside other Chinese educationists for over 60 years; DAP also once banded with Dong Zong in the past as the opposition, yet as the government of the day they switched sides to Mahathir.

"In the last general election, 95 percent of Chinese voters cast their ballots for DAP. Thus, it is only fitting for DAP to fulfil the mandate entrusted to them and speak out for the Chinese community in the cabinet.

"No matter what happens, MCA Youth and MCA’s stand is the same - that is unwavering support for Dong Zong and to be an unyielding bulwark for Chinese education," Wong added.