Recently after delivering his policy speech at Bersatu’s AGM, its President proposed that an “umbrella body” similar to the United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Jong) for groups championing Malay-bumiputera rights be formed.
This is coming from the same person who, in 2017 said Dong Jong is extremist in attitude on the UEC official recognition issue and uncompromising in the amendment of MICSS curriculum.
The likening of a body similar to Dong Jong by the President of Bersatu for groups championing Malay rights is akin to a somewhat reluctant admiration but short of an official endorsement by the leader of a political party that once governed this country of Dong Jong and the role and its effectiveness on the issues that it was representing for the last 70+ years.
The umbrella grouping - The United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Zong) and the United Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zong)— started in the 1950s to oppose attempts by the British to set up a single-language school system — remains the pillar of the Chinese education movement to this day.
Among Malaysians of Chinese descent who did not attend Chinese schools, Dong Jong is an alien term with many probably haven’t even heard of the name.
Only those who attended Chinese schools would probably have heard and knew of Dong Jong.
Knowing of their existence does not necessarily means they associate or identify themselves with them.
The then colonial government already viewed Dong Jong with suspicions following its formation - Jiao Zong was set up in 1951, followed by Dong Zong in 1954 - prior to the independence of the country,
Mahathir just continued the tradition in viewing Dong Jong the same i.e with suspicions.
Mahathir has repetitively attribute the inability of the country to achieve national harmony and unity due to the multi-stream education system.
And he never failed to single out Dong Jong as one or the principal hindrance to national harmony, the latest being in Aug 2019 when he labelled Dong Jong racists.
Example. during the National Day celebration in 2000, Mahathir likened Dong Jong and a lobby group to 'communists' and 'extremists' of the past in a live telecast .
Even the Mufti of Perlis joined in when he suggested for Dong Jong, likening it to the LTTE, to be outlawed by the authorities.
The claim by Mahathir and the Mufti that Dong Jong is racists and as nothing but a group who never agreed with national education policies reveals how discriminating both are.
It brought up memories of 1987's crackdown known as Operation Lalang.
There were many reasons for this crackdown but it was believed to have been triggered by the reaction of Dong Jong and Chinese politicians who opposed the government’s move to appoint about 100 non-Mandarin-speaking administrators to Chinese schools in the 80s.
Many wonder why Dong Jong were at loggerheads with the government over national education policies for decades now.
For the case of Jiao Zong, which was set up before Independence, it was fighting for the benefits of its members of over 6,000 teachers serving in some 1,200 Chinese schools prior to independence where the colonial government through the controversial Barnes Report proposed a national education system in both English and Malay at the primary level and in English at the secondary level.
Dong Zong meanwhile represented school managers and committee members, mostly businessmen who funded the schools during the early days.
Changing perceptions of educational quality to broader societal and economic trends tell a story of an education system in flux presently, with Bumiputra students increasingly opting to studying in Chinese schools as compared to the public schools.
Would this make Dong Jong irrelevant in the future?
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