KUALA LUMPUR – PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today called on Chinese education group Dong Jiao Zong and Malay organisations not to proceed with their respective plans to hold anti- and pro-Jawi gatherings over the fear that it would heat up political and racial sentiments.
Instead, he said, all quarters should return to the dialogue table.
“The organisation of the anti-Jawi congress will invite a reaction from the pro-Jawi group. Bear in mind that Jawi is part of the national heritage,” he said in a statement today.
The Port Dickson Member of Parliament said Malaysia is a multiracial and multicultural nation, a fact that all Malaysians should feel proud of and respect.
Apart from that, he said the priority of the education sector was to improve the quality of education.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned Dong Jiao Zong to cancel their plan to organise a congress, scheduled on Dec 28, as a protest towards the teaching of Jawi at vernacular schools.
The prime minister said such a move might cause the Malays to also organise a similar gathering.
— BERNAMA
