KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth chief hopeful Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir has committed sedition by calling for the abolition of vernacular schools, according to DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.
“Mukhriz has committed the offence of sedition in questioning one of the four ‘sensitive’ issues entrenched in the constitution,” Lim said in Parliament today.
According to the Ipoh Timur MP, Mukhriz can be stripped of his parliamentary membership, disqualified from taking part in parliamentary and state assembly elections as well as barred from holding office in any society for five years if found guilty of sedition and punished by a fine of up to RM2,000 or jailed for a year or both.
"However he twists and turns, there can be no doubt that yesterday he was in fact calling for the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools," Lim added.
Lim referred to Article 10(4) of the constitution which does not allow the proposal to remove Mandarin and Tamil primary schools, classifying such a move as an offence under the Sedition Act.
Lim said this was protected along with the special provisions for the Malays and natives in Sabah and Sarawak in Article 153, and the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers.
He cited precedents in 1971's Melan Abdullah vs Public Prosecutor where Utusan Malaysia was found guilty of sedition for its editorial subheading, "Hapuskan sekolah beraliran Tamil atau China di-negeri ini (Abolish Tamil and Chinese stream schools in this state)" and Mark Koding vs Public Prosecutor in 1978 where the Sabah MP was found guilty of sedition when he spoke in Parliament calling for the closure of Mandarin and Tamil primary schools.
Met by reporters in Parliament, Mukhriz said that he merely asked for the education system to be integrated into one and that the issue of closing of schools did not arise.
He explained that his suggestion was to have one system but modified to take the best of other systems such as the expertise of the Chinese schools in teaching mathematics.
He also clarified that except for science and maths in English, the medium of instruction for the other subjects should be Bahasa Malaysia.
"I am in no way questioning the right of people from different ethnicities to use their mother tongue, to practice their culture and religion," he claimed.
"All of us, without exception, the Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional, talk about unity but we need to listen to more ideas on how we are going to achieve this.
"I am just putting forward a suggestion which is through our education system. We have to start from the root of it all and realise that unity starts from our schools." he added.
On the allegation of sedition by Lim, he defended himself by saying that in the precedents cited by Lim, they had asked for vernacular schools to be closed whereas he had asked for no such thing.
"The opposition sees sedition in every statement we make. While I talk about unity, how can that be seditious?
"After all, they too talk about the same thing but I don't see them suggesting or recommending any real solution. I do not have all the answers but perhaps we could sit down and talk about it," he added.
Mukhriz also denied that he was putting forward this suggestion to gain support in the upcoming party polls.
"A month ago, I said that while we are in heat of our respective party elections, let us refrain from making statements that will jeopardise the position of the BN.
"Unfortunately that was not heeded. That escalated into a situation where people are openly talking about Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy)," he lamented.
In a surprising turn, he said that MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's speech that touched on Ketuanan Melayu emphasised the need for change and unity.
"It is the same thing that I have been touching on also," Mukhriz said.
Yesterday, Mukhriz had accused Dr Chua of trying to be a "hero" for bringing up Ketuanan Melayu.
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
02/12/08
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