Quick to realise that they may have offended grassroot members with their elitist stance, the politically savvy Mahathir suddenly changed tack. If in the past weeks, Najib and his camp held out the promise of a more inclusive and progressive Umno, over the weekend their clarion call took on a strident Umno-for-only-the-Malays note.
For instance, Najib’s cousin Hishammuddin Hussein, who publicly apologised last year over a keris-unsheathing ceremony that symbolises Malay supremacy, announced on Saturday that he intended to reprise the ritual this week.
Mahathir himself warned that Malays were under threat more than ever before, and may lose their privileges if they did not support leaders like himself and his protege. He also took a shot at Chinese educationist and accused of being apartheid in not wanting to accept English as a medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science in vernacular schools.
The 84-year old ex-premier however neglected to mention that Malay educationists too want both subjects to be taught in their own mother tongue. His comments sparked a blaze of anger from the Chinese community, forcing a reaction from the Umno-led Barisan Nasional component, the MCA.
“If the Chinese educationists do not like to mingle with the Malay community, I would like to inform him that almost 90 per cent of the students that finish their primary school at Chinese vernacular schools enrol into national secondary schools,” chided Wee Ka Siong, deputy education minister.
Mighty Pen
24/03/09
For instance, Najib’s cousin Hishammuddin Hussein, who publicly apologised last year over a keris-unsheathing ceremony that symbolises Malay supremacy, announced on Saturday that he intended to reprise the ritual this week.
Mahathir himself warned that Malays were under threat more than ever before, and may lose their privileges if they did not support leaders like himself and his protege. He also took a shot at Chinese educationist and accused of being apartheid in not wanting to accept English as a medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science in vernacular schools.
The 84-year old ex-premier however neglected to mention that Malay educationists too want both subjects to be taught in their own mother tongue. His comments sparked a blaze of anger from the Chinese community, forcing a reaction from the Umno-led Barisan Nasional component, the MCA.
“If the Chinese educationists do not like to mingle with the Malay community, I would like to inform him that almost 90 per cent of the students that finish their primary school at Chinese vernacular schools enrol into national secondary schools,” chided Wee Ka Siong, deputy education minister.
Mighty Pen
24/03/09
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