A blueprint on how to destroy vernacular Chinese schools, by an ex SJK(C) student

To understand how to get rid of Malaysia's vernacular schools, you first need to understand why it exists, and why the Chinese care so much about it. A bit of background: 1/28

Chinese schools arose organically from bottom-up, collective community action by the Chinese community, during the colonial era. They were created in response specifically to colonial era education policy which specifically refused entry to Chinese people. 2/28

After all, educated Chinese people couldn't easily be exploited as part of the colonial economy, and might even post a threat with their political knowledge & awareness. Better for the backwards Chinese and their children to remain uneducated, stupid, and exploitable. 3/28

The only community the British were interested in educating were the Malays. And even then, that depended on what "kind" of Malay you were. 4/ 28

If you were descended from Malay nobility, there was/is MCKK, designed to mold you into becoming a loyal subject of the English crown. If you were a peasant, they wanted only to educate you enough to make you a "more intelligent farmer or fisherman". 5/28

Chinese schools were not founded on government money. They were formed by the blood, sweat, and tears of Malaysian Chinese collective action. There is a very real - and very valid - feeling amongst Malaysian Chinese that we built vernacular schools ourselves, for ourselves.6/28

This state of affairs continues to today. Chinese schools receive the barest modicum of government support. In 2018, despite making up around 20% of all enrolled primary students in Malaysia, SJKCs only received 9% of the budget allocation for primary schools in Malaysia. 7/ 28

Instead, SJKCs rely heavily on fundraising efforts, campaigns, and donations from the public in order to continue operating and to make ends meet. This is how they've survived in spite of the government's antipathy and outright hostility, pre and post-independence. 8/28

The end result is this: 1.There is a strong siege mentality amongst Chinese schools and their supporters. They believe—rightly imo—that the government's goal is to destroy them and what they represent - an ethnic community that has not assimilated into the mainstream.9/28

2. There is a strong sense of Chinese communal ownership over SJKCs. Even those who no longer have children in SJKCs still have strong sentimental attachment to them, because the schools represent the collective action and efforts of the community, both now and in the past. 10/28

3. The Chinese are afraid - a fear which reflects wider insecurities. We are afraid of losing our cultural heritage. Afraid that parents will no longer be able to talk to their children if they can't speak Chinese. Afraid that we'll lose what privileges we've still have.11/28

This, in turn, comes from seeing the fates of more oppressed minorities in Malaysia, who have repeatedly had their cultures and traditions oppressed and insulted by Malay cultural supremacists. Put bluntly, the Chinese are scared of becoming a "properly" oppressed minority.12/28

We saw what happened to Sri Maha Mariamman temple, and how HINDRAF was treated. We saw what happened to Indira Gandhi's children. We see what's happening to the Orang Asli in Gua Musang. We see what's happening to Sabah and Sarawakian tribes and their interests. 13/28

The Chinese remember May 13. We remember the Japanese occupation. We remember the New Villages and the Emergency. And we are terrified of letting that happen to us again. 14/28

Ultimately, many Chinese don't see any benefits in assimilating into the national education system. What will we get if all Chinese schools disappear tomorrow? 15/28

Will they scrap the racial quota system in public universities? Will there be more scholarships available for Chinese students? Will UiTM open up its doors to Chinese and Indian students? No? Then assimilate for what? 16/28

Ultimately Malaysia's vernacular schools *may* contribute to the problem of racial tensions and the lack of a national identity. But they're only a symptom, not a cause of the probem: the problem is fear. To get rid of vernacular schools, you must first get rid of that fear.17/28

Hence: a 3 step plan
1. Stop attacking Chinese schools by publically calling for their dissolution, which only confirms Chinese worries that they're "under attack". Here, the "stick" approach only enforces that siege mentality, making Chinese schools stronger, not weaker. 18/28

2. Instead, address the problems that Chinese schools are designed to fix, which are:

(a) Quality education for all Malaysians, regardless of race.
(b) Cultural preservation - language, folklore, and traditional education. 19/28

(a) Open up UiTM. Open up MCKK. Scrap public university quotas. Show the Chinese they have something to gain - as opposed to only having something to lose - by giving up SJKCs. 20/28

(b) is harder, but not impossible. Start small - with accurate, quality teaching of Chinese and Tamil in national schools, as opposed to begrudgingly offering them with limited support and basically no funding. 21/28

Next, incorporate more elements of non-Malay cultures into the national education syllabus. Replace the "Tamadun Islam" in Sejarah with a "Tamadun Nusantara" portion. Teach about how Malaysian minorities have historically adopted Malay culture, while also influencing it. 22/28

Teach the history of Peranakans, Mamaks, the Chola conquests, Indian ocean maritime trade and cultural exchanges, the voyages of Admiral Cheng Ho, etc. Show all Malaysians that we have a shared history, which transcends ethnic lines of division and domination. 23/28

3. Move towards a Malaysian national identity, based not on colonial divisions of Chinese-Indian-Malays, but on class and material solidarity. The shared experiences of working and middle class Malaysians, our shared challenges, struggles, and fears regarding inequality. 24/28

But don't ignore race. Don't use "Bangsa Malaysia" as a tacit way to affirm Malay supremacy while sweeping minority problems under the rug. Instead use it as a way to create a new national identity, based on solidarity and unity, rather than rejection and exclusivity. 25/28

If this is implemented today, vernacular schools will disappear within a generation, with minimal social discontentment and resistance from minority communities. It's not easy, but it's simple. And we can start today. 26/28

Be understanding towards the social fears, concerns, and worries of our fellow Malaysians. Understand that each of our commnities carry collective traumas and fears which come from valid historical experiences. 27/28

Kindness, empathy, and compassion is the way. Not the fist shaking rhetoric of veioled threats, empty legal challenges, and political attacks. This is the only way forward for Malaysia - the only peaceful way. I hope we take it. 28/28

Sources:
The Education of Ethnic Minorities: The Case of the Malaysian Chinese, Tan Yao Sua and R. Santhiram

- background on the history of Malaysian Chinese schools, where they came from, and analysis on what their contemporary purpose is

https://www.moe.gov.my/penerbitan/1587-quick-facts-2018-malaysia-educational-statistics-1/file

Percentage of students enrolled in SJKCs circa 2018

https://www.treasury.gov.my/pdf/budget/speech/bs18.pdf

Gov allocation towards SJKCs in 2018

https://faculty.washington.edu/charles/new%20PUBS/A4.pdf

Paper on the background of Malaysian vernacular schools post independence