Joint Statement Released by Dong Zong and Jiao Zong

November 13, 2018

Dong Zong and Jiao Zong regret to be informed by the Minister of Education Dr Maszlee in the cabinet questioning session that if national-type schools are unable to afford their operation, maintenance and infrastructure expenses by themselves per se, they are always entitled to apply to be national schools for full and steady government funding.

1. Over the decades, the government has categorised schools with school lot ownership belonging to the federal government as “Full Subsidy School” and otherwise as “Half Subsidy School”. Indeed, we reckon these two terms were coined by the Education Ministry officials which are unfair towards vernacular schools (Chinese and Tamil), catholic schools, national-type schools and they are essentially browsing the power of relevant school boards slowly.

2. Moreover, either it is in the “Education Act 1957”, “Education Act 1961” or “Education Act 1996”, the terms “Full Subsidy School” and “Half Subsidy School” do not exist. In the “Education Act 1996”, there are three types of schools in Malaysia education system, namely, National School, National-type School and Private School. National-type schools are granted grant-in-aid and capital grant, or otherwise known as administration and development appropriations. Capital Grant is appropriated from Public Fund to the schools which are solely for school building construction, maintenance or expansion of dormitory, furniture and facilities or other specific expenses involved; whereas Grant-in-aid refers to all other appropriations allocated from Public Fund to the schools besides Capital Grant. On that score, the government has the obligation to release both Capital Grant and Grant-in-aid to all national-type schools and should not instead request the schools to show the entitlement of school lot ownership to qualify for the appropriation.

3. “Full Subsidy School” and “Half Subsidy School” are the creations of the former government. Immediately after the election this year, the Pakatan Harapan government was given the mandate to govern and it is the expectation of the general public that the new government should practice disparate governance to bring forward a brighter future and reform improper policies and measures for fair treatment towards all vernacular schools. We wish that the government would ensure fair treatment for national or national-type schools and be obliged for equal administration and development appropriation and not to take advantage of appropriation to turn national-type schools with financial difficulties into national schools. We deem it only fair for the government to view all streams of schools equally and develop, affirm and commend them for their bid in education and the production of polymaths for the country disregard whether their school lots belong to the federal government, state government, school boards, catholic church or private sector as they are all institutions for education within the national education system.

4. According to the “Education Act 1996”, all vernacular schools (Malay, Chinese and Tamil), catholic schools, transformed schools, etc. must have their own school boards. The Act also regulates that the government bears the obligation to afford their administration and development expenses. As such, we expect the new government on the horizon to earnestly shoulder the responsibility by fairly appropriate and develop these schools and not to practice the “Full Subsidy School” and “Half Subsidy School” measures implemented by the former government which in essence aims to turn national-type schools into national schools.

5. We herewith caution all Chinese vernacular schools and reformed schools not to apply to be “national schools” to avoid their school boards from being browsed gradually and their unique characteristics distorted or worse still, disappeared