They reject the DPM’s accusation that there is a political agenda behind their opposition to Interlok.
Lim Teck Ghee, who heads the Centre for Policy Initiatives, released a statement today that accused Muhyiddin of “wilful ignorance”.
“In NGOs voicing concerns on key issues affecting our nation, we do not have any political affiliation or political axe to grind,” the statement read.
Lim said the NGOs were at the “forefront of the campaign” to voice concerns over the book, which many groups have said had racist tendencies and was unsuitable for use in schools.
He said Muhyiddin should welcome feedback from the NGOs and engage them rather than intimidate them.
Yesterday, Muhyiddin as Education Minister repeated his assertion that the controversy had been resolved and described any further call for discussion as ill intended.
“If the opposition parties are exploiting the issue by getting non-governmental organisations to again voice objection, perhaps it’s because of the upcoming elections,” he told reporters.
Lim said that if Muhyiddin had studied the chronology of the controversy, he would have found that civil societies such as National Interlok Action Team (NIAT), Hartal MSM and the Centre for Policy Initiatives had been providing feedback for several months now.
He added that the NGOs’ activity in the matter was in “sharp contrast” to the lack of discussion among governing and opposition parties regarding the use of a controversial book as a compulsory text.
Lim disagreed with Muhyiddin that the issue had been resolved. He said retaining the book in the syllabus for Zone 2 of the school system meant that its use could be extended to other zones in the country.
Lim also urged NGOs and parents to continue expressing their opposition to the book as a school text.
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