Fracas has split Chinese community, Dong Zong must regain confidence of Chinese Community, says Kho Hai Ming

Kwong Wah Yit Poh, July 18, 2016

Penang, July 17 – President of the Penang and Province Wellesley United Chinese School Management Association (Penang Dong Lian Hui) Kho Hai Ming admitted that the fracas in United Chinese School Committees’ Association (Dong Zong) had caused irreparable damage in the history of Chinese education and splitting the Chinese community; therefore it should now make effort to regain confidence of Chinese Community.

He said the Chinese education movement had since retrograded 20 years; moreover, the public had lost their confidence in Chinese education organisations. As the Chinese education could no longer afford any injury, he thus called upon Dong Zong to stop the in-fighting lest Chinese education be brought to the dead end.

He said at present the development of Chinese education was facing with many challenges, the current challenges were different from the past, and the cohesiveness of Chinese educationists was also getting weaker and weaker, causing the challenges to become more severe.

Kho Hai Ming said this in his speech delivered at the swearing in ceremony of the new committee members of the 32^nd Penang Dong Lian Hui (2016-2017) held today.

In addition, he opined that history would be the best judge to say who was right and who was wrong, so Chinese education organisations must not point finger at each other lest their efforts be wiped out in a day.

“We should not be trapped in the era of old thinking and old frame, all Chinese schools must also communicate with the Chinese education bodies in their area so that consensus could be reached,” he said.

He said the present government had either willfully or unintentionally changed the education policies without referring to provision under the law, one of the cases being board of governors of more than 30 Chinese schools and religious schools were summoned to the state education department for inquiry about the board framework, this was testing waters by the department, thus all board of governors of Chinese schools must be very cautious in handling the matter.

Lau Lee Ming: Learn from other states in purchasing or renting shop lot as office

President of Doing Zong Datuk Lau Lee Ming suggested Penang Dong Lian Hui to learn from other states to rent or purchase shop lot as its office so that it could carry out more activities and strengthen the secretariat in the effort to enhance the association’s development.

He felt that Penang Dong Lian Hui would be getting bigger and stronger through the above method, so that it would be able to be more organized and planned in developing the Chinese education in Penang state.

He pointed out that the development of Chinese education in the country was facing with external and internal pressure; as such it was in a relatively unstable state.

“The internal factor includes unsound organization structure, personnel and factional disputes, and also controversies on the real course of struggle for Chinese education and unity policy, all these problems not only had been expanded, but also resulting in confrontation,” he added.

Besides, he also urged board of directors as well as parents and teachers association of the Chinese schools to support the signatory campaign organised by seven Chinese associations in opposing the dual language programme implemented in Chinese primary schools, and to return the signature form to Penang Dong Lian Hui by August 31.

At the same time, he also said Dong Zong had for a long time paid much attention on the problems facing by the national type secondary schools, besides it had also supported the efforts made by other organisations such as participating in the seminar on problems faced by the national type secondary schools, and also fully supported the board of directors of national type secondary schools in asking the state education department to send teachers with Chinese language qualification to assume the senior posts in Chinese schools.