JERLUN member of parliament Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir’s call for vernacular schools to be integrated into the national school system did not contain racial overtones, Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday.
He said claims by certain parties, especially those in the opposition, that the statement was racist and seditious were baseless.
“Allegations that Mukhriz’s statement was racially-charged are totally baseless,” he said at Parliament lobby.
Mukhriz’s statement had drawn a storm of protests from both Barisan Nasional and opposition leaders, with the latter labelling it seditious.
The first-time MP, who is facing a three-cornered fight for the Umno Youth chief’s post, has stood firm on his remarks.
Hishammuddin, also the education minister, said the education system was made up of 5,831 national schools and 1,827 government-aided sch-ools.
Government-aided schools comprise 889 Chinese schools, 374 Tamil schools, 410 mission schools and 154 government-aided religious schools.
Hishammuddin said government-aided schools had Malaysian students of all races.
“However, the opposition has tried to confuse people by linking it to racial and seditious elements and this has caused a lot of confusion and unhappiness.”
He said there was nothing extraordinary in Mukhriz’s statement, as calls for a single education system had been made since independence.
Ideally, he said the government would like to see a single education system but numerous factors had to be considered before that could became a reality.
He said the government also took into consideration the fact that the education system had been in place for more than 50 years.
“It is good to wish for a single education system, but there is no point in linking the matter to issues related to race.”
He said there were more important matters to be concerned about than arguing over Mukhriz’s statement.
“Everyone, be they from the government or the opposition, should work together to tackle challenges posed by the current global economic crisis.”
Mukhriz said he had not been called in by police for a statement on his remarks on vernacular schools.
“The police have not called me. I am not worried. Everyone has a stand on every issue and I believe my remarks were not seditious. So, I should be all right,” he said yesterday.
On Wednesday, MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had been questioned by police in connection with his remarks on ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy).
Mukhriz reiterated that he did not call for the closure of vernacular schools, but wanted a single education system for all. Asked if his recent remarks could have made him a hero among some, he said: “That is not my intention. I’d rather be a hero for all Malaysians, than one race.”
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