KUCHING: Vernacular schools are definitely not a hindrance to unity, says Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) chief Wilfred Yap.
Instead, he stressed that racism and religious extremism were the root cause of disunity.
“The real stumbling block to unity is race-based and race-bias policies and we must all strive for the day when the focus of every government policy should be based on meritocracy and social justice,” he said in a statement on Friday (Aug 28).
He mentioned that it was indeed sad that while Sarawakians had been embracing diversity and harmony in race and religion, politicians from Malaya continued to play up issues on race and religion, which was definitely not conducive to the unity of a nation.
“Our nation is multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious. Vernacular schooling system was introduced to promote the languages and cultural values of these communities.
“There is strength in diversity and we should embrace this diversity as a platform for unity building among the diverse races of our nation.”
He was referring to Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal who recently said vernacular schools should be abolished as they were a hindrance to unity among Malaysians.
To this, Yap said that national unity was not a simple matter that could be derived by closing down vernacular schools.
“Instead of continuously harping on vernacular schools being a hindrance to unity, the focus should be placed on making national schools the preferred choice for all.
“It is the government’s duty to make national schools acceptable to every parent and it starts by having the political will to improve the quality of education in present government schools.”
In the same statement, the Kota Sentosa SUPP branch chairman also wished every Malaysian a “Happy Merdeka” in conjunction with National Day on Aug 31.
