Teeny Weeny Miny Mo, Referendum is the Way to Go

The Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua initiative launched by the Demi Negara Community triggered a potpourri of reactions from Malaysians at home and abroad. The vast majority are supportive while, as expected, a fringe group exhibited emotionally-charged resistance bordering on idiotic lunacy. Perhaps the dichotomous interpretation of the initiative between Mainstream Malaysiana and the prickly fringe groups reflects the demographic reality of Malaysia, where every act, every endeavour, every move are viewed from cloudy race-tinted lenses by a race-obsessed populace. The naysayers and resisters manifested in full glory their estrangement from reality, in a gory racist orgy sustained by collective denial of an inevitability.

Yes, I say inevitable.

There is no other way.

Our 52-year experiment of stirring undiluted chunks of foreign cultural-linguistic elements in a Malay soup inside a curdling social cauldron has been an utter failure. We are now estranged, mutually-alienised, moving apart, and caught in a self-destructive game of racial extremism exacerbated by a flourishing anti-national movement stoked by long-dormant subversive forces.

Indeed, the survival of the Malaysian nation itself hinges on the recalibration of our social framework, beginning with infusing the necessary cohesion among our disparate populace. This shall begin with our children. They will determine Malaysia’s future, whether we hurtle into the abyss of social destruction based on the current socio-political trajectory or we emerge reinvigorated in 2020 as a progressive nation of the true Anak Bangsa Malaysia, a nation of patriots cohesive in shared affinities and speaking in one voice – Bahasa Malaysia – the expressive soul of our nation.

Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua is the catalyst of this journey towards meaningful, cohesive nationhood, a key component of the blueprint of a raceless Malaysia that has been vigorously expounded in Demi Negara.

As of today, almost 1,600 people have signed the on-line petition, another 1,300 plus patriots became members of the Satu Sekolah Facebook site, and dozens of blogs proudly carry the Satu Sekolah logo. Based on the petition and Facebook sites, Satu Sekolah supporters include cabinet members, prominent politicians, academics, government officials, corporate chieftains and Malaysians from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds. These are the people who still believe in the Malaysian Story, in forging a united Bangsa Malaysia of unquestioned loyalty to the land we share.

Who then are the resisters to change? Who are these naysayers?

The usual suspects.

Lets begin with politicians. In this respect, the Pakatan Rakyat has been interesting. Till today, there has not been a single adverse official reaction by either the DAP, PKR or PAS on Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua. Maybe they are cunningly calculative, as to oppose Satu Sekolah would be to repudiate their own vision of a unified Malaysia under their Ketuanan Rakyat mantra. And when the Rakyat – the majority Rakyat – speaks of One School, they listen.

What about the Barisan Nasional? Well, we should not generalise, but a Teeny Weeny little Napoleon from a Barisan component party, MCA, made some noise, an act memorable for its humourous ludicrousness than anything else. Interestingly, this Wee Ka Siong @ Wei Jiaxiang chap is a Deputy Minister of Education, in effect a public servant voted by the Rakyat and sworn to serve us Rakyat irrespective of ethnicity or background. Perhaps Teeny Weeny’s actions are quite understandable. You see, Teeny Weeny wants to be the new hope of his stuttering party after their near demolition by DAP and PKR in PRU12, and he gets more than his fair share of bludgeoning in Parliament by the DAP Chinese zealots who accused him of not doing enough for Chinese schools in this country. Hence, Teeny Weeny's need to be seen as the champion of Chinese Rights in Malaysia today, and prove to his DAP and PKR and even Gerakan detractors that MCA is not a running dog of UMNO. This spawned his foolish bravado of demonising Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua to the extent of threatening a police report for “crimes” only known to him. The MIC didn't criticise Satu Sekolah, but did their part to further polarise our children as well.

Yes friends, we are living in interesting times indeed. You push an initiative to unite Malaysians, you get threatened with a police report by no less than a serving deputy minister of Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia government. But when others spew seditious garbage against the Malays, Bahasa Malaysia, the Raja-Raja Melayu, Islam, NEP, even Malay Reserved Lands, they are feted as heroes by some, by the ungrateful beings who now deify the megalomaniac Chin Peng against all logic and realities of our country’s political history.

With partners like this, what hope for BN and UMNO in PRU13? You see, the non-Malay votes are already lost to the PR, and now the Malays may view MCA with contempt and disgust thanks to the antics of the likes of Teeny Weeny. Do you think Teeny Weeny can retain Ayer Hitam without the Malays who composed 56.4% of voters in the constituency and who would loyally vote for the BN dacing at every PRU irrespective of candidate? We shall see. But I think Ayer Hitam is too UMNO lah, too safe for heroes like Ah Siong. Perhaps BN should field him in Ipoh Timur or Seputeh to validate his gumption. But again, maybe this chap has noble intentions, perhaps misunderstood by many. But how could the Malays, including his Malay constituents who voted him to parliament, connect with his thoughts when his webpage is not in Bahasa Malaysia, but in Mandarin and English? Haiya Ah Siong, is this the way to say Terima Kasih to the Malay voters who made you a YB?

Teeny Weeny’s site also boldly proclaimed: “Speak Up, Make Changes, have NO FEAR.”




Yeah right … we speak up to make changes via One School and we get threats from Teeny Weeny, but I must say we have no fear.

Ok, who else opposed a unified school system for our children?

Well, the other usual suspects of course, the type who oppose for the sake of opposing. Yes, these are the professional opposers. These resisters themselves have NO alternative to whatever they oppose. That would be too brain consuming, quite understandable based on the characteristic dearth of gray matter that made them oppose Satu Sekolah in the first place.

I personally don’t take this motley crew of anarchists and pseudo-subversives and plain vanilla racists seriously. There’s nothing much you can do with people already set in their values and attitudes, what I termed Damaged Goods. As they say down in South Carolina, “it ain’t worth a pitcher of warm spit.” Yup, let them be, let them holler and shriek and yelp in their isolated dens and nooks and crevices. After all, we are a democracy. Imagine life without this eclectic collection of bumbling jesters? What would KijangMas write about?

Oh yes, some did their best to project an "intellectual" flavour to their futile opposition of Satu Sekolah. I cannot help but laugh at their flimsy, rudimentary and woefully lightweight arguments clouded by a mysterious paranoiac aversion to "things Malay" that afflict their troubled souls. I don’t want to clutter this post with my response to a vain pseudo-intellectual wannabe, but if you have time and appetite for gory literary dyslexia, go here. Of course, the less intelligent types typically just shout obscenities in their desperate lunge onto the path of the Satu Sekolah movement now gaining momentum among the common Rakyat. And I marvel at the sheer hypocrisy of it all as many of them are not exactly products of vernacular schools themselves! See, they use the literacy bestowed upon them by the Sekolah Kebangsaan to hantam the Sekolah Kebangsaan in a grotesque manifestation of the toxic Malayphobia that dominate their lives. Perhaps they should send their own kids to the likes of SJKT Tepi Sungai, Klang as a matter of principle.

Others? Yeah, it gets more bizarre as you burrow deep inside the cybersleazoid scrapheap. Nothing much can be learned from the emotional rantings of these rabid racists, except perhaps to validate Satu Sekolah's thesis that our children should go to one national school to avoid the very cultural-linguistic estrangement exhibited by these clueless resisters. As for this and this and this, well, their choice of hieroglyphics said it all.

Can we have an intelligent dialogue with fellow Warganegaras who chose to communicate in a script alien and incomprehensible to the vast majority of the Rakyat?

Thanks in part to these detractors, the Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua campaign has succeeded in putting the issue on the table. It has catalyzed healthy debate and raised public awareness. And contrary to claims by the forces of disunity, there really is nothing complicated about implementing One School by a sovereign nation. This is not Rocket Science. In fact, it is the norm in 99 percent of the world. It is a national imperative, a necessary component of nationbuilding, indeed, a non-negotiable avenue towards the ultimate creation of a raceless Malaysia for all. The resisters and naysayers above are mere irritants to our larger national agenda that must be embraced by all Warganegaras who pledged loyalty to King and Country, who in school swore to uphold the tenets of the Rukunegara. Of course, the establishment of One School may be a long process, but we now have the roadmap as promulgated in the memo and a tangible target.

We must ask ourselves: Why should the selfish indulgence of some elements within the 24+7 percent of the populace hold our beloved nation hostage to debilitating social fragmentation in perpetuity?

This anomaly is unheard of anywhere on earth. Why Malaysia so special? Why some people get special foreign language privileges in schools of their own making? Who is dependent on special privileges now? How come I see the proverbial tongkat and crutch galore whenever beneficiaries of this special concession twist and turn and kick and scream everytime the government tries to integrate their children with Mainstream Malaysiana? Wau-lau-eh, sampai bila mau guna ini tongkat sekolah? Masih mau asingkan diri dari arus perdana selepas 52 tahun merdeka? Bila mau jadi Rakyat Malaysia sepenuhnya yang berinteraksi rapat dengan semua kaum dari awal bangku sekolah dan fasih dalam Bahasa Malaysia milik kita bersama? Kalau mau "sama rata," kita harus amalkan Satu Sekolah. Betul? Boleh? Tak mau? Tak boleh? Masih pekat dalam kancah kuno belenggu perkauman yang menjahamkan negara?

So your motto is Malaysia Tak Boleh kah? Haiya, like this how?

Our schools affect us Rakyat more than anything else. We should let the Rakyat decide. We should have a national referendum on vernacular schools. A simple Yes-No answer. Let us collectively decide our future. A referendum is a fair, equitable way to gauge the preference of the Rakyat. We had referendums in the past on matters of more importance. Indeed, the formation of the expanded Malaysian Federation itself was determined via referendums of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. Other democracies have referendums as a matter of choice and necessity. In California, referendums are held for almost anything under the sun, from property taxes to public school funding to same-sex marriages.

Yes, a referendum is the most democratic way. Nobody can argue on the logic and fairness of the process as each of us has one vote irrespective of origin, background, ethnicity or sentiment. This is the epitome of justice, fairness and kesamarataan demanded by the anti-NEP forces all these years. Yeah, in the spirit of kita semua sama, lets vote sama-sama. Satu orang, satu undi.

Let the Rakyat decide.

Demi Negara calls for a national referendum on vernacular schools.

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Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua: Lets Sign the Petition

Join the Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua Campaign by the Demi Negara Community. Post your comments and sign the linked Petition. Thank you.

n.b. The previous post did not make the RSS feed and blogrolls.

Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua

This started as a thought. One of a thousand thoughts shared among the fertile minds of the DN Community. Members of this community of patriots are known as the DN Knights, a term coined by the pioneering Knight of all, the indomitable Mat Cendana of Mat Cendana’s Blog Review.

The issue of streamlined schooling surfaced repeatedly as the DN Knights deliberated on the mutifaceted impediments to national unity and the seeming futility in forging a true Bangsa Malaysia of sufficiently shared affinities to reflect our common nationhood.

A Knight by the nic of Sepadu, a regular commenter renown for his thoughtful views on making Malaysia a better land for all, dropped a cyber-bombshell of a suggestion. He asked if the collective wisdom and energies of the DN Community could be harnessed to draft a memorandum to the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, to implore the government to seriously relook at the current multi-stream educational anomaly with an eye towards forging a singular Sekolah Kebangsaan for all Malaysians. This is what Sepadu said:-

I'm thinking of drafting a letter in BM, in the name of the Demi Negara community represented by you and to be signed by you in whatever manner convenient to you, addressed to YAB TPM merangkap Menteri Pelajaran ... The issues are so important that, in addition to hoping the authorities come to this blog, we bring our views directly to them in the form of a letter ... I would begin writing the draft after getting your OK and the response from other members of the DN community, expressed as comments in this post of yours (DN: April 19, 2009 6:04 AM).

I said o.k., go ahead and lets see if the Knights would oblige and contribute to the cause. The trickle of support quickly became an avalanche as Malaysians from all walks of life voiced their support for this initiative, with many e-mailing me privately. One of these closet supporters who finally "came out" is NJ, a true patriot and fellow critic of PM Najib's fuzzy 1 Malaysia concept. Kembara Politik volunteered as the editor. Bro satD of Pure Shiite fame set-up our literary sandbox at Writeboard, an Open Source-type community editing site. Rezuan Asrah of the Elusi IT blog was particularly committed and provided the necessary technical expertise to our cyber-collaboration. The inimitable Pakcik Dal, the urbane mountain man, resident sage and voice of reason at DN, almost single-handedly collated the relevant narratives from past comments at this blog, a daunting task reflective of his energy and commitment towards a better, cohesive Malaysia of the future.

Thoughts and opinions poured in from around the world. Zazaland from France, a member of the Malay diaspora in Europe, related the French approach to social cohesion via education and expended her own resources to secure detailed European research materials. Many others provided a stirring repository of references and research findings, including Cenderawasih and Omong. My compadré, Jebat Must Die, shared his thoughts. Indeed, the JMD blog is a veritable trove of facts and anecdotes relevant to the cause. An anonymous patriot answered my call for the Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua logo and worked tirelessly to fine-tune the design. Terima kasih saudara. Even Tommy Yew, my old sparring partner often identified with this Unker, chipped in with encouragement and provided cyber-kopi-o to the team.

All these energised enthusiasm were well-marshalled by Sepadu and Bro satD, a fellow Kelantanese currently advising the Indonesian government on complex financial reforms in the true spirit of Nusantaran solidarity.

What transpired was a unique online collaboration, perhaps the first of its kind in the Malaysian blogosphere. The Knights collectively conceived, formulated and refined a memorandum to the Deputy Prime Minister in a truly seamless self-regulating "Open Source" environment. And this is not for a trivial feel-good note. The memo covers a complex subject with far-reaching impact on nation building.

The memorandum to the DPM calls for a re-synthesization of our educational framework aimed towards forging a singular National School System conducted in Bahasa Malaysia, except, of course, for certain prescribed subjects.

The rationale is two-pronged:-

- One. There is no Constitutional provision for multiple language streaming of our schools. Education is an official matter of state, and per our Constitution, all such matters must be conducted in one language and one language only, our national language, Bahasa Malaysia. The supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia is also a matter of strategic national interest and a public good of the highest priority. Anything that transgresses this public good -- in this case Vernacular Schools -- by definition, are unconstitutional and must be removed from our social realm.

- Two. The segregation of our citizens from a very young and impressionable age (via vernacular schools) has become the single biggest impediment to the creation of a true Bangsa Malaysia unified by a common identity, mindset and language. After almost 52 years of Merdeka, a large proportion of MyCard-carrying Warganegara Malaysia are functional-illiterates in the language of their country of citizenship, and are incapable of partaking in the process of nation-building and social integration expected of citizens of any nation in this world.

The vernacular school menace MUST be eradicated from our blessed land. This is Malaysia. The national language is Bahasa Malaysia. English, the international language of commerce, science and technology can be a second, albeit unofficial language. The other languages are best kept and nurtured in their countries of origin and, if truly necessary as a cultural imperative in this country, be uttered within the private confines of the specific communities. This is clearly articulated in Article 152 of the Federal Constitution, which says:-

The national language shall be the Malay language and shall be in such script as Parliament may by law provide, provided that no person shall be prohibited or prevented from using, otherwise than for official purposes, or from teaching or learning any other language.

The operative words here -- "using," "teaching" and "learning" the other languages -- refer to the usage and acquisition of these languages in and of themselves only, and restricted to the context of "otherwise than for official purposes" and do not by any stretch of the imagination infer to their usage as the language of instruction in such an important "official purpose" as Malaysia's school system.

I don’t see any other way to forge national integration, national unity, to instill a sense of commonality of purpose and a sense of shared destiny except to vigorously push for a streamlined, singular School System for ALL Malaysians. Every single one of us, of all origin and ethnicity, must speak in one tongue and undergo the same educational journey as Warganegaras of this blessed land. No single Anak Bangsa Malaysia should be allowed to fall into the communal trap laid by selfish, irrational chauvinists and denied the same opportunity as Mainstream Malaysiana.

Relive the battle cry "Satu Bangsa Satu BAHASA, Malaysia Berjaya!" of our forefathers amidst external threats when Persekutuan Malaysia was formed in 1963. And a single school system taught in Bahasa Malaysia is the single-most crucial element in the forging of this true Anak Bangsa Malaysia and the determinant of Malaysia's tenability as a cohesive and progressive nation for all.

Memorandum to the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister from the Demi Negara Community:-

Y.A.B. Tan Sri Muhyiddin bin Yassin
Timbalan Perdana Menteri
Merangkap Menteri Pelajaran
Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia
Blok E8, Kompleks E,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan
Persekutuan
62604 PUTRAJAYA

Y.A.B. Tan Sri,

Pengkajian Semula Sistem Pembelajaran Malaysia untuk Melahirkan Suatu Bangsa Malaysia Yang Bersatu, Teguh dan Bersepadu

Dengan segala hormatnya kami mengemukakan cadangan yang tersebut di atas demi melahirnya suatu Bangsa Malaysia yang kukuh, bersatu dan bersepadu yang akan menjamin masa depan negara kita. Kami bukanlah suatu kumpulan politik atau berpihak kepada mana-mana unsur politik negara ini. Kami adalah warganegara yang prihatin terhadap pembentukan masyarakat Malaysia yang jitu dan yang benar-benar sehati dan sejiwa yang akan mengemudi negara kita tercinta ke arah kegemilangan.


Gejala-Gejala Polarisasi Kaum di Malaysia

Pengkajian semula sistem pelajaran negara ini haruslah dilakukan memandangkan fenomena perpecahan kaum yang semakin meruncing di masa kini. Gejala ini amatlah jelas sekali di alam siber dimana segelintir masyarakat kini mempamirkan sikap anti-negara yang semakin berleluasa. Jelas sekali, anasir-anasir ini tidak menghormati asas dan prinsip Perlembagaan negara, tiada rasa cinta kepada Tanah Air dan juga menonjolkan penulisan hasutan yang mencetuskan sentimen perkauman yang begitu ketara sekali. Secara lantang anasir subversif ini mempertikaikan segala lambang kedaulatan dan intipati negara kita tercinta. Dari pengamatan kami, puak penderhaka ini antara lain telah menyentuh perkara seperti berikut:-

• Mempertikai kedaulatan institusi Raja-Raja Melayu yang diperuntukan dalam Perkara 181 Perlembagaan Malaysia .

• Membangkitkan isi-isu sensitif seperti kedudukan istimewa Orang Melayu dan kaum Bumiputra lain yang termaktub dalam Perkara 153 Perlembagaan Malaysia .

• Mengabaikan Bahasa Rasmi negara, iaitu Bahasa Malaysia, dan mempromosikan secara meluas bahasa-bahasa asing, termasuk Mandarin dan Tamil, yang bertentangan dengan Perkara 152 Perlembagaan Malaysia.

• Menidakkan adanya suatu Kontrak Sosial (berkaitan kerakyatan masyarakat Bukan Melayu dan kedudukan istimewa Orang Melayu) yang telah terjalin di antara kaum-kaum di negara ini sejak Merdeka dahulu.

• Mengeji dan mempersenda Dasar Ekonomi Baru yang digubal mengikut Perkara 153 Perlembagaan Malaysia.

• Mempersoal dan menidakkan peranan dan pengorbanan Orang Melayu yang telah bertapak di Bumi Tanah Melayu sejak sebelum zaman Kesultanan Melayu Melaka lagi dalam pembentukan dan pembangunan negara ini.

• Melebihkan peranan puak imigran dalam pembentukan dan pembangunan negara ini ke tahap yang menyimpang jauh dari kenyataan.

• Menjanakan berbagai penipuan sejarah yang akan memudaratkan pemikiran rakyat negara ini, terutama anak-anak di bangku sekolah.

• Mempersenda dan memperlekehkan segala simbol kenegaraan Malaysia yang patut di sanjungi dan dipertahan oleh setiap lapisan masyarakat, termasuklah lagu Negaraku, Keris, Songkok dan, seperti tersebut di atas, institusi Raja-Raja Melayu, Bahasa Malaysia dan sejarah negara ini.

• Mempertikai hujah-hujah pemimpin Bukan Melayu terdahulu seperti Presiden MIC, Tun V.T. Sambanthan dan Presiden MCA, Tun Tan Siew Sin, dimana pemimpin-pemimpin ulung tersebut telah melafazkan rasa kesedaran, keinsafan dan berterimakasih terhadap budi perkerti dan sikap bertolak-ansur Orang Melayu di dalam pemberian kerakyatan Jus Soli kepada kaum pendatang di Tanah Melayu, tidak seperti nasib yang menimpa kaum mereka di negara-negara serantau.


Kewujudan Bangsa Malaysia Yang Berbahasa Malaysia dan yang Berlandaskan Budaya dan Tatatertib Orang Melayu

Setelah hampir 52 tahun merdeka, negara kita kini menghadapi masalah perkauman dan kerapuhan sosial yang amat membimbangkan. Polarisasi kaum telah sampai ke tahap kritikal dan kini mengancam kesejahteraan masyarakat dan keselamatan negara. Justeru, Malaysia sudah tiada pilihan kecuali berikhtiar untuk menzahirkan suatu Bangsa Malaysia yang teguh bersatu, yang berbahasa Kebangsaan sebagai bahasa utama, yang bersepadu dalam pemikiran dan yang mempunyai tahap patriotisme yang tinggi berlandaskan cinta kepada negara dan hormat kepada Perlembagaan.

Berpandukan kepada semangat kenegaraan yang menjadi asas pembentukan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dan kemudiannya Persekutuan Malaysia, Bangsa Malaysia ini haruslah secara menyeluruh :-

• Fasih bertutur di dalam Bahasa Kebangsaan. Bahkan Bahasa Malaysia menjadi bahasa ibunda seluruh Bangsa Malaysia di suatu hari kelak;

• Memahami dan menghormati adat-adat dan tatasusila orang Melayu dan kaum pribumi lain di Malaysia;

• Menghormati kedudukan Agama rasmi Malaysia iaitu Agama Islam sambil menikmati kebebasan beragama sesuai dengan peruntukan perlembagaan;

• Mempertutur bahasa warisan ibunda lain dan mengamalkan warisan budaya ibunda dengan cara yang sesuai dengan peruntukan Perlembagaan, iaitu di luar konteks urusan rasmi dan di amalkan secara peribadi oleh komuniti tersebut.

Konsep Bangsa Malaysia yang kami amati telah diperbincangkan dengan mendalam di wadah kami. Suatu penjelasan menyeluruh telah di huraikan di blog Demi Negara.

Titik permulaan dalam pembentukan Bangsa Malaysia tersebut terletak pada sistem pembelajaran negara kita. Sikap terhadap Bangsa Malaysia ini harus di bentuk dari peringkat asas. Justeru, Sistem Pembelajaran Malaysia haruslah di sesuaikan agar menjadi wadah utama dalam penerapan nilai-nilai Bangsa Malaysia tersebut di kalangan anak-anak kita bermula dari usia yang muda.


Dasar Sistem Pembelajaran Malaysia Di Masa Kini

Kami berpendapat, pembinaan suatu Bangsa Malaysia yang teguh bersatu dan jitu bersepadu tidak akan tercapai selagi adanya gejala Sekolah Vernakular (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan atau SJK) di Bumi Malaysia. Sekolah Vernakular tidak selaras dengan matlamat melahirkan Bangsa Malaysia berharmoni dan bersepadu yang berteraskan unsur-unsur nasionalisme yang sepatutnya. Malah ia telah menjadi penghalang utama keatas hasrat kerajaan membina masyarakat yang sehaluan bahasa, minda dan kebudayaan asas.

Kewujudan Sekolah Vernakular telah menimbulkan berbagai tanda tanya ke atas peranan dan status nya di masa kini. Ini termasuklah:-

• Sekolah Vernakular adalah bertentangan dengan status Bahasa Malaysia sebagai Bahasa Rasmi negara kita. Malah, Sekolah Vernakular nyata bercanggah dengan peruntukan Perlembagaan dimana Bahasa Malaysia diwajibkan untuk segala urusan rasmi, dan Sistem Pembelajaran adalah suatu urusan rasmi negara.

• Bahasa penghantar di SJKC ialah Mandarin, Bahasa Kebangsaan sebuah negara asing, iaitu Republik Rakyat China. Malah ia bukan bahasa asli mana-mana suku kaum Cina yang tinggal di negara ini. Bahasa penghantar SJKT pula adalah Tamil, bahasa rasmi negeri Tamil Nadu di India. Ini adalah suatu fenomena sosial yang amat ganjil dan tidak harus di benarkan di negara kita.

• Seperti termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Malaysia, Bahasa Kebangsaan wajib digunakan untuk segala urusan rasmi negara. Sistem Pembelajaran merupakan suatu urusan rasmi negara sepertimana di semua negara di dunia.

• Perkara 152(a) Perlembagaan Malaysia menyatakan :-

"No person shall be prohibited or prevented from using (otherwise than for official purposes), or from teaching or learning, any other language."

Fasal tersebut tidak memberi mandat kepada Kerajaan untuk membenarkan, apatah lagi memberi sokongan wang dan sebagainya, kepada mana-mana sekolah yang menggunakan bahasa selain dari Bahasa Kebangsaan kerana sistem pembelajaran adalah suatu urusan rasmi (“offical purpose").

• Dari segi “protection of the legitimate interest of the others” yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan, "kepentingan sah masyarakat lain" merangkumi urusan peribadi masyarakat tersebut dan tidak termasuk hak untuk menggunakan bahasa penghantar lain bagi urusan pembelajaran di sekolah. Peruntukan dalam Perlembagaan Malaysia membolehkan pengajaran dan pertuturan bahasa lain secara peribadi di kalangan sesuatu masyarakat, dan bukan hingga ke tahap penggunaan bahasa lain secara berleluasa termasuk sebagai bahasa penghantar utama di sekolah.

• Sekolah Vernakular pada amnya mengandungi satu kaum sahaja dalam suasana pembelajaran yang tidak membayangkan arca dan kandungan masyarakat negara ini. Ini tidak sesuai dalam melahirkan suatu Bangsa Malaysia yang bersatu dan bersepadu. Murid Sekolah Vernakular wujud dalam suasana terpencil dari aliran am. Mereka menyerapkan nilai-nilai satu kaum sahaja, tidak bergaul dengan kaum-kaum lain, tidak dapat pengalaman berinteraksi, kurang memahami adat resam kaum lain dan susah menerima hakikat bahawa adat resam dan budaya kaum majoriti di negara ini perlu di fahami dan di hormati. Ini mengakibatkan pemikiran mereka terkongkong dan menjadi janggal dan mereka bermasalah menyesuaikan diri dalam masyarakat majmuk negara ini.

• Pengasingan sebahagian warganegara ke alam Sekolah Vernakular sejak umur yang senang di pengaruhi telah menjadi penghalang terbesar kepada kewujudan suatu Bangsa Malaysia yang bersatu di bawah satu bahasa, identiti dan pemikiran.

Tiga Bahasa Penghantar Tidak Sejajar dengan Perlembagaan dan Bertentangan dengan Amanat Rukunegara

Perkara 152 Perlembagaan Malaysia membenarkan pengajaran bahasa-bahasa selain dari Bahasa Kebangsaan untuk lain-lain komuniti di Malaysia. Tetapi kebebasan ini nyata terbatas kepada pembelajaran khusus bahasa tersebut sahaja dan bukan untuk ianya dijadikan bahasa penghantar bagi matapelajaran lain di Sistem Persekolahan negara Malaysia.

Kita tidak harus ada tiga sistem pembelajaran dalam tiga bahasa penghantar. Bangsa Malaysia yang bersatu dan bersepadu tidak mungkin lahir dari suasana sebegini. Keadaan tiga sistem pembelajaran ini tidak sejajar dan jelas bertentangan dengan semangat dan peruntukan perlembagaan, dan juga menyimpang dari matlamat utama Rukunegara, iaitu “mencapai perpaduan yang lebih erat di kalangan seluruh masyarakat nya.”

Keagungan Bahasa Malaysia sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan dan Bahasa Rasmi negara ini mesti di pertahankan. Perkara yang tidak sejajar, menghalang atau menentang peruntukan bahasa dalam Perlembagaan adalah di sifatkan sebagai bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan atau “unconstitutional.”

Masalah-masalah yang timbul dari kewujudan Sekolah Vernakular banyak di perkatakan bukan sahaja di blog Demi Negara, malah di berbagai blog lain. Contoh hujah-hujah di alam siber yang mempertikai kewujudan Sekolah Vernakular di huraikan di lampiran bersama surat ini.

Berdasarkan kepada fakta dan pendapat yang terpapar di sini dan segala hujah yang dikemukakan di pautan-pautan berkenaan, kami dengan hormat nya meminta agar gejala Sekolah Vernakular ini di hapuskan secara total.

Kesemua Sekolah Vernakular yang ada sekarang harus diserapkan kedalam Sistem Sekolah Kebangsaan dimana peruntukkan secukupnya dibuat untuk menyediakan pembelajaran bahasa ibunda khusus untuk mana-mana murid yang memerlukannya.


Langkah susulan yang kami syorkan:-

Pengkajian Semula Sistem Pelajaran Negara oleh Kumpulan Bebas

Kami mencadangkan suatu kajian terperinci oleh kumpulan pengkaji bebas di adakan keatas fenomena Sekolah Vernakular ini. Kumpulan pengkaji bebas ini haruslah terdiri daripada individu-individu yang berkelayakan dan berpengalaman yang setimpal dan berkecuali dari politik (non-partisan) sepenuhnya demi menentukan integriti laporan yang akan dikeluarkan. Tokoh asing yang terkenal dan berpengalaman dalam kajian sebegitu boleh juga dijemput ke kumpulan pengkaji untuk meningkatkan prestasi dan kredibiliti kajian dan laporan tersebut.

Penggubalan semula Akta Pendidikan 1996

Akta Pendidikan 1996 tidak sejajar dengan matlamat pengwujudan Bangsa Malaysia seperti yang termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan. Akta tersebut yang membolehkan wujudnya sekolah vernakular haruslah dirombak agar ianya kembali kepada niat asal penubuhan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. Akta tersebut berbunyi:-

"AND WHEREAS the above policy is to be executed through a national system of education which provides for the national language to be the main medium of instruction, a National Curriculum and common examinations; the education provided being varied and comprehensive in scope and which will satisfy the needs of the nation as well as promote national unity through cultural, social, economic and political development in accordance with the principles of Rukunegara."

Walaubagaimanapun, kewujudan sekolah vernakular mengabaikan objektif yang tertera di atas. Penggubalan semula Akta ini akan membolehkan rakyat Malaysia mengecapi suatu struktur pendidikan yang seragam melalui keperkasaan sistem sekolah kebangsaan.

Mata Pelajaran Sejarah Di Mestikan

Melihat betapa pentingnya generasi pelapis negara kita diserapkan dengan pengetahuan sejarah yang kukuh dan mencukupi, kami juga mencadangkan agar subjek Sejarah diwajibkan di semua sekolah di Malaysia. Anak muda yang Celik Sejarah akan memahami asal usul, arca dan konteks pembentukan negara Malaysia.

Ini termasuklah latarbelakang institusi Raja-Raja Melayu, perjuangan wira tanah air kita di zaman silam, peranan Orang Melayu dalam mencetus tamadun dan pembentukan negeri-negeri di Tanah Melayu sejak abad-abad awal selepas Masihi, kemasukan kaum-kaum lain ke Tanah Melayu, permuafakatan di antara kaum yang membawa kepada pembentukan Kontrak Sosial yang tersirat dalam Perlembagaan dan punca termaktubnya hak-hak dan keistimewaan Orang Melayu dalam Perlembagaan.

Masyarakat yang Celik Sejarah akan mencetuskan suasana yang menyemarakkan pengwujudan Bangsa Malaysia yang kita idamkan selama ini. Selagi tidak timbul Bangsa Malaysia ini, selagilah kita berterusan sebagai sebuah negara rojak yang dilanda berbagai gejala sosial yang tidak sihat dan berbahaya kepada keselamatan negara.

Penulisan Semula Buku-Buku Teks Sejarah

Kami juga mencadangkan supaya buku-buku teks Sejarah negara di kaji semula secara menyeluruh. Fakta-fakta sejarah yang lebih tepat dan terperinci harus dicatatkan oleh kumpulan cendiakawan yang terbukti kewibawaan dan integriti mereka. Penghuraian sejarah yang betul akan memainkan peranan sebagai pencetus kepada pembentukan suatu Bangsa Malaysia yang sehati dan sejiwa di Tanah Air kita yang bertuah ini.

Rumusan

Kewujudan Sekolah Vernakular adalah satu-satunya punca utama ketidakserasian dan ketegangan kaum di negara kita tercinta. Fenomena ini hampir tiada tolak bandingnya di dunia ini dan telah menjadi suatu barah yang kian menular dalam kancah kerapuhan masyarakat Malaysia. Jika gejala Sekolah Vernakular ini tidak dibendung, negara kita akan terus bergerak ke ambang kehancuran.

Dalam segi Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia, Sekolah Vernakular jelas tiada tempatnya, bahkan bercanggah dengan fasal-fasal Perlembagaan dengan begitu ketara sekali. Percanggahan ini harus di bendung dan di perbetulkan secepat mungkin demi kestabilan dan keselamatan negara.

Kami pohon agar Y.A.B. Tan Sri memberi perhatian, pertimbangan dan penekanan yang sewajarnya keatas cadangan-cadangan yang dikemukakan di sini demi masa depan Bangsa dan Negara Malaysia tercinta. Kami berdoa agar tindakan yang sejajar dengan kepentingan perkara ini diambil oleh Y.A.B. Tan Sri dan langkah-langkah susulan dilaksanakan oleh kementerian Y.A.B. Tan Sri.


Sekian, terima kasih.


Yang Benar

KijangMas
Bagi Pihak Komuniti Blog Demi Negara

Demi Negara has also launched an online Petition Drive -- Kempen Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua -- to garner Malaysian public support for this initiative. Go to the petition here to express your patriotism. Get involved, tell your friends and loved ones. We must do something to arrest this divisive social cancer for the future of the Anak Bangsa Malaysia.

Losers' Luncheon and a 3-in-1 Malaysia

Met up with Robin at a kopitiam yesterday. Will post that most interesting conversation soon.

Meanwhile, KijangMas gatecrashed a Losers' Luncheon last month.

Chitchatted with the guy who couldn't help wanting to be the PM and the guy who needed help when he was the PM.

Just got this from the paparazzi:-

Nothing much happened at that makan, except that the guy to my right (yeah, in tie) devoured everything in sight and the guy on my left lost his appetite.

The MSM later "spun the scoop" into orbit with the report below. Hey Joceline, what's with the "roasted wild deer"?

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Oh, another thing. Our new Prime Minister is touting something called 1 Malaysia. But how come his blog is multilingual? Even got version in the national language of the People's Republic of China. Dalam Bahasa rasmi Tamil Nadu bila lagi?

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I didn't know we have voters up in Beijing and Dalian and Lanzhou?

Memanda Perdana Menteri, are you promoting 1 Malaysia or a 3-in-1 Malaysia?

In these early days, PM Najib Razak seems to project himself as a neo-liberal almost in the plasticky, superficial Zaid Ibrahim mold in his bid to appease and caress the sentiment of the non-Malays. To me this is an ill-advised stance and, if it persists, would lead to further degeneration of our social order. The undercurrents of discontent to this state of affairs among the Malay majority would be to the detriment of UMNO and the BN and ultimately the nation itself.

As it is, the non-Malays have berpaling tadah en masse to Pakatan. They have tasted the intoxicating nectar of power and it is beyond Najib or anyone else to turn them over to the BN in the foreseeable future. Whatever goodies and giveaways thrown at these people now would just be wasted trump cards earning nothing in return. And these concessions are politically almost impossible to retract or take back once they are dished out.

My advise to Najib and his team is to lay off these wayward non-Malays for now. Ignore and forget these hopelessly seduced bigots and chauvinists and let them tango and cha cha and joget to their hearts content with the Pakatan gang until the honeymoon ends in a self-destructing calamity of scandals, failed expectations and infighting that would mushroom as PRU13 inches closer.

Najib should instead focus his energy on rebuilding the Malay support base for UMNO, and work towards some semblance of "Malay Unity" with PAS within 24 months as PAS drifts away on the choppy waves from the unwieldy, erratic Pakatan ship.

Whether it cares to admit or not, UMNO's future as the political ruler of this land has become inexorably tied to PAS' political machinations and leadership intrigue. If the pragmatic nationalists prevail over the orthodox dogmatists in PAS' own internal powerplay, the party will "see the light" and distance itself from Pakatan. And this would profoundly impact Malaysia's political dynamics.

What does it take to induce this seismic shift in Malay politics?

This is the kind of poser PM Najib and his inner circle must contemplate and strategise, the focal point of his quest to forge a solid political base that would facilitate the pursuance of his agenda for national renewal. Hence, the PM should not waste precious time indulging in Mandarin blogs and embracing untenable concepts touting perpetual social variegation that would further propel this nation into a ruinous existence. Najib need not fall over backwards to portray an ill-conceived and unrealistic pseudo-liberalist persona to a group already seduced and poisoned by the Pakatan charlatans.

I'm also boggled by PM Najib's embrace of vernacular schools. This was first demonstrated when he was DPM during the KT By-elections with his RM50 million gift to the SJKCs. I also sense in him a lax attitude towards language. Yes, we all noticed that his 1 Malaysia blog comes in three languages including Mandarin. Many patriots sent me notes on this, and a gentleman even wrote a strongly worded e-mail to Najib (copied to me) complete with a link to my Racial Polarisation post. Couldn't Najib see the ravages on our social cohesion caused by this cancerous SJK anomaly? Is he that ill-informed, out of touch, blissfully ignorant? Another Sleepyhead in the making? Indeed, is he really well read? Or has he become too dependent on ill-conceived briefing papers and abridged analyses percolating from some obscure basement labyrinth in Putrajaya?

My concern here is the quality of advise Najib is getting. At the moment, albeit still very early days, and as mentioned, he seemed more concerned with garnering non-Malay support than anything else. What do you think is currently going through the minds of Malay Nationalists, the bedrock of UMNO's support across the land?

Yes, Najib's 1 Malaysia concept is still in its infancy and will need further calibration, but thus far I don't see any clear blueprint or roadmap for the forging of a real Anak Bangsa Malaysia as I have exhaustively expounded.

What is the socio-political basis of 1 Malaysia? Yes, beyond the catchy jingoism? Indeed, way before we shout catchy slogans and nifty buzzwords that mean nothing beyond the superficial glitter and noisy razzmatazz, we must first forge a solid ideological foundation, an irrepressible philosophy that makes 1 Malaysia a natural, long-overdue social blueprint that would be embraced by the Rakyat as a matter of rational imperative. And this foundation of nation-building must be able to withstand the test of logical inquisition and critical analysis and prevail and flourish as something so profound, so necessary, so timely in this phase of our nation's existence.

To do this, Najib and his team must revisit the primordial building blocks of our nationhood. They themselves must understand history and will need to communicate to the Rakyat how and why we became what we are today and what needs to be done to recalibrate the trajectory of our social evolution. Explain the flawed prescriptions of the first 51 years of nationhood, including the utter neglect and confusion of the past six years, that collectively created an untenable multilingual, multicultural, multi-identity and multi-everything milieu forged on a brittle palate of overlapping realities pulled apart by the incompatible aspirations and divergent expectations of a mutually-estranged populace. Then expound why we have no choice but to recalibrate our societal dynamics to a new paradigm of shared affinities underpinned by a common, pervasive national language, Bahasa Malaysia, and a socio-cultural mold based on the budaya and tatasusila of the original Orang Melayu essence of this nation.

This is the immediate challenge for the PM and his team.


And my message to the subversive historio-revisionists: ponder and contemplate with much-needed humility the statements below by the pioneering leaders of the minority communities. This one-third of the Malaysian Rakyat has today deviated from their aspired place in our society and has been the main obstacle to nation-building, due in part to their complete and utter ignorance of Malaysian history.

The minorities must be infused with a sense of responsibility (which comes with the Kerakyatan package) to help forge a civil, progressive society, a common, irrepressible Bangsa Malaysia yang memartabatkan Satu Bahasa Satu Negara dan berlandaskan Satu Bangsa Satu Negara.


Quote from a speech by MIC President and Works, Telecom and Posts Minister, V.T. Sambanthan in the Dewan Rakyat on June 1, 1965:-

… in 1955 we won the elections with a great majority. Then we obtained freedom in two years time. During this period, we had to discuss citizenship and various other things. Now what did the Malays do -- since we are speaking on racial lines -- what did the Malay leadership do? They had 88 percent of the electorate still with them. What did they do with citizenship? If we look around in Asia and East Asia, particularly, you will find that my race the Indian race, is not welcomed in Ceylon, is not welcomed in Burma.

Look at my brother Chinese race, it is not welcomed in Thailand, in Vietnam, in Cambodia, in all the other areas. What help do they get for citizenship in all these territories? In Burma, as we know, Indians have been send packing, in Ceylon they refused them citizenship and in Burma it is likewise. I know it, you know it. And yet in Malaya what happened? Here we found that the Malay leadership said, "We shall take them unto ourselves as brothers, we shall give them full opportunity to live in this country, we shall give them every opportunity to become citizens." And so, in 1957, for the whole year, we waived language qualifications, and tens of thousand of Indians, Chinese, Ceylonese and others became citizens ...

As I said, it has been my great good fortune to have been born in this country. Where else can you find a more charitable, a more polite, a more decent race than the Malay race? Where else can you get such politically decent treatment for any immigrant race? Where else in the history of the world? I ask you. These are the facts. Who are you to safeguard us? I am a 10 percent minority race here. But I am happy here.

(Source: Tan Sri Khalid Awang Osman, Malaysia - An Anthology, Vantage Press, New York, p. 60)

Quote of statement by Tan Siew Sin, MCA President and Finance Minister in a local daily titled, "Tun Tan Answers Critics on Special Previleges" dated April 30, 1969:-

The Malays, through UMNO, were generous enough to relax the citizenship laws of this country to such extent that within 12 months of independence, 90 percent of the non-Malays became citizens. This was different to the situation before Merdeka whereas 90 percent of the non-Malays were still non-citizens after nearly 100 years of colonial rule in the Malay States. In return for this major concession. the MCA and the MIC agreed to continue the policy of preserving the special position of the Malays while at the same time upholding the legitimate interest of other communities.

(Source: Tan Sri Khalid Awang Osman, Malaysia - An Anthology, Vantage Press, New York, pp.38-39)

So there you have it. In no uncertain terms. In the public record. Unequivocal. Edged for posterity.

Read and reread carefully the profound statements by V.T. Sambanthan and Tan Siew Sin. Need I say anymore? Still want to deny facts? Still want to rewrite history? Still think you owe the Melayu Tuan Tanahs nothing? You exist as Warganegaras with all kinds of Hak and Keistimewaan on this Bumi Tanah Melayu out of your own volition, the sheer briliance of your species, as a natural right bestowed by some higher being?

No.

Reread the two statements. Instill a sense of Keinsafan and Sikap Berterimakasih to the Orang Melayu for your incredible good fortune to be able to live here and partake in your cultural excesses to your heart’s content with little fear or restrictions and even to the detriment of the Melayu Tuan Tanahs themselves. A little Sedar Diri and appreciation of your Asal Usul and Tempat Dalam Masyarakat would go a long way towards the rehabilitation of your groupthink, to cleanse your souls of the inherent mala fide and degenerative inclinations, and provide a glimmer of hope, albeit excruciatingly faint, of your embrace of the tenets of the true Bangsa Malaysia concept that I have expounded many times.

Again, go read the two statements and learn it by hard and repeat them to yourselves whenever you are inflicted by your peculiar primal urge to cause social mayhem and bedlam in my Tanah Air Tercinta.