KUALA LUMPUR – Clarify your stance on vernacular schools and if you support their abolition, DAP lawmaker Teresa Kok told Perikatan Nasional’s Kuala Kubu Baharu candidate Khairul Azhari Saut after PAS slammed the Pakatan Harapan (PH) contender.
“The burning question now is whether Khairul agrees with his coalition partner PAS MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari’s divisive stance on vernacular schools, solely to secure votes.
“Does he share the view of his PAS comrades, or does he align with the opinion of a Bersatu MP who advocates for the abolition of vernacular schools?” she asked in a statement today.
Kuala Kubu Baharu has five Chinese and two Tamil primary schools.
Kok also slammed Fadhli’s narrative on PH candidate Pang Sock Tao as “divisive, irresponsible and deeply racist”.
“As a two-term MP, I expect Fadhli to engage with Pang’s manifesto, her stance on social justice, anti-corruption measures, and her plans for the development of Kuala Kubu Baharu. However, he opted to fixate on her educational background.
“There’s a clear distinction between questioning a candidate’s academic qualifications and maliciously targeting their ethnicity, as Fadhli has done.
“If Fadhli was to momentarily remove his blinders, he would realise many Malay and Indian families also opt to send their children to Chinese vernacular schools.”
Although Fadhli had “apologised”, DAP national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching also called him out, while pointing out that other PAS representatives sent their children to Chinese schools.
Academic qualifications became a point of interest when Khairul’s certifications were questioned.
According to Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, diploma holders could directly pursue their studies to the executive master’s level if they met the work experience qualification requirements.
The applicants under this programme must also pass the Recognition of Past Experience evaluation, which serves as another determining factor for their admission.
Later, Pang shared that she scored straight As in her UPSR and SPM exams, as well as having studied at SJK(C) On Pong, Ampang, and SM Chung Hua in Port Dickson. – April 30, 2024