KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak reminded Malaysians that he was the one who removed a particularly unpopular clause in the Education Act when he served as minister.
“I withdrew the tool or the weapon that allows the Minister of Education to convert Chinese schools to national type or national schools.
“Clause 21(2) of the 1961 Education Act was removed once and for all and that was my contribution when I was Education Minister,” he said, reminding the Chinese community of his contributions at a Chinese New Year celebration at Wisma Huazong here today.
(The clause which was labeled as objectionable by the Chinese and Indian communities empowered the Education Minister to convert a vernacular school into a national school. However Najib removed it when he held the office between 1996 and 2000.)
Najib said Malaysia was the only country outside China which allowed Chinese (vernacular-based) education as part of its national type system.
“Today we can see that it is part of the national education landscape and we have solved many problems related to them.
“I have given a special allocation for Chinese education in the budget every year. Both Chinese primary and secondary schools get special allocations. When the allocation is insufficient we also supplement it,” said Najib.
He said the government had also increased the number of Chinese schools.
“When MCA and Gerakan came to see me, I instructed that where there was an increase in population and a demand for Chinese school, more such schools should be constructed.
“We shouldn’t deprive them or make it difficult for them to have access to the kind of education they want,” Najib said, adding that the government had recently approved 10 new Chinese schools in Johor and Selangor while relocating six schools with poor enrollment.
He said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong had further informed him that three new schools would be launched in Johor soon.
Najib said the government had also resolved the shortage of school teachers by allowing Xiamen University Malaysia Campus in Malaysia.
He said the university was the first such outside China which was approved by the Chinese government and was another shining example of Malaysia’s collaboration with China.
Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia or Huazong president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Hua praised Najib for his simplicity and openness.
He was also congratulated for the removal of the controversial clause as well as the upgrade of New Era University College, Han Chiang University College and Southern University College (from just being colleges).