PETALING JAYA, Malaysia: Thousands of Chinese-Malaysians took to the streets of Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, just outside the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday as their frustration over government moves on education continues to rise over the use of vernacular in schools. The demonstration was also in opposition to the government's recently launched National Education Blueprint (NEB), which the government believes will push education forward. But protesters of the Dong Gong Chinese education group are not in agreement. “We urge the government to fulfil the people's wishes, implement a policy of multi-lingual schools and ensure that it is contained in the mainstream schooling policy, to give fair treatment and preserve the characteristics of vernacular education," Dong Zong's President Yap Sin Tian said in a speech on a platform to the predominantly Chinese crowd. Braving the hot weather, the protesters carried banners and chanted against the moves they feel will inflict more harm on the Chinese population. “We are hear because this is our future, this is our children's lives and we want to make certain we all have equal opportunities in this great country,” one protester told Bikyamasr.com as the chants could be heard for streets in the city. Other protesters sat on the platform and in a few white canvas tents, while RELA officers were spotted. The banners carried slogans such as “Membantah KPM meminggirkan SJKC, SJKT, Sekolah Tamil, Sekolah Mubaligh, SMJK (Protest against the Ministry of Education in sidelining SJKC, SJKT, Tamil schools, mission schools, SMJK)" written in Mandarin, Malaysian and Tamil and were strung up along two sides of the field. It was a unifying event, while predominantly Chinese, other groups also urged the government to ensure all languages are represented in the country. “We know there is a lot of struggle over this blueprint, but we just want the government to hear us,” said an Indian-Malaysian, while pointing to Bikyamasr.com's reporter to “report on what we are doing so people will know.” Political parties also made their presence known, with PAS and PKR flags, as well as banners sporting the DAP logo being held aloft at the football field that was occupied. Speakers from various organizations took turns to address the enthusiastic crowd, with some stressing that the rally dubbed as “1125" was not anti-government. Kota Kecil MCA's branch Chairman Tai Foo Him was cheered by the crowd during his speech, even as a few placards mocking his party were held up by rally participants. PKR vice-president N. Surendran, DAP deputy Chairman Seng Giaw, PAS lawmaker Khalid Samad and even Sabah Progressive Party vice-president Datuk Chua Soon Bui were present to lend support. Dong Zong supporters passed two resolutions before the end of the rally, with one opposing the NEB for allegedly advancing a monolingual education policy as its ultimate objective. The other resolution passed was to urge the government to revise the NEB to preserve and sustain the development of different languages while still giving priority to Malaysian as the national language. Yap later told reporters that a memorandum will be handed to the prime minister and education minister. Organizers have reported that over 670 civil society organizations showed up on Sunday, with the crowd seeing more than 20,000 people in total. “We just want to have education for the future and create a new way for Malaysians to move forward, with all our cultural pluralism,” student Reza told Bikyamasr.com as he and his parents chanted for change.
