We did not know it was minister's initiative: Dong Jiao Zong

Chinese educationist groups Dong Zong and Jiao Zong said they did not attend Monday’s meeting with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy over the introduction of Jawi lessons in vernacular schools because they were initially unaware of the true nature of the meeting.

They said they first received the invitation on Jan 1, 2020, from the Malaysian Chinese Language Council chairperson Eddie Heng Hong Chai to meet with Waythamoorthy to discuss the introduction of Jawi in vernacular schools.

“Because the message did not say specifically that the meeting was the initiative of the minister and also involves other NGOs, Dong Jiao Zong thought the meeting was a follow-up to the National Jawi Congress organised by the Malaysian Chinese Language Council and Seni Khat Action Team (Sekat) which was held on Dec 29, 2019.

“At that time, Dong Jiao Zong was working on follow-ups to the banning of the Chinese Organisations Congress which was scheduled for Dec 28, 2019, which included arranging dialogues with the leaders of the ruling and the opposition parties,” said Dong Zong and Jiao Zong in a joint statement today.

As the Malaysian Chinese Language Council and Sekat are on the same page as them, Dong Jiao Zong said they believed it would be best for both sides to work towards their similar goals in their own ways.

That is why Dong Jiao Zong chose not to attend the meeting which they believed was a follow-up to the Dec 29 congress.

They said they only received an official invitation letter from the Prime Minister’s Department on the day of the meeting itself and they found that of the 12 organisations invited, Jiao Zong and other Malay NGOs were not included on the list.

Besides, Dong Jiao Zong said, they were having a meeting on that day with a Muslim organisation.

“Due to the lack of time and other reasons, we were not able to attend the meeting with minister and this is much regretted,” they said.

However, as Waythamoorthy had said that various efforts were being done to find a solution to the Jawi issue, Dong Jiao Zong said they hoped the government will continue holding discussions with NGOs to build trust and a conducive environment to discuss government policies.

On Monday, it was reported that Waythamoorthy held a meeting with various stakeholders to discuss the controversy over the introduction of Jawi lessons in vernacular schools.

The meeting was marred by the conspicuous absence of two key opponents to the new policy that were Dong Zong and Jiao Zong.