A DAP MP has called on PAS to introduce Mandarin and Tamil classes in its preschool, or Pasti, if it is sincere in its proposal to teach the two languages in national schools.
Yesterday, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man proposed that Mandarin and Tamil language subjects be introduced for all students in national schools to foster unity.
Opening the congress of the PAS supporters’ wing in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Tuan Ibrahim said language barriers cause mistrust, and children can learn and understand each other if Mandarin and Tamil language subjects were introduced in national schools.
In a statement this morning, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said PAS leaders should not just be good at speaking on the stage, but practise what they preach.
“If (Tuan Ibrahim) is sincere with the proposal to introduce Tamil and Mandarin as subjects in national schools, then he should first prove his seriousness by implementing the same thing at Pasti, PAS’s own preschool,” he said.
Lim pointed out that Mandarin and Tamil have long been offered as additional subjects in national schools.
“This proposal clearly proves that he does not understand the existing education system, or worse, he deliberately wants to raise issues that do not exist,” he said.
He also asked if this is Tuan Ibrahim’s personal view or PAS’s official stance.
“If this is just personal rhetoric, don’t use the issue of education to gain attention. If this is really a new PAS policy, please state it clearly and prove it by immediately implementing (the proposal) in Pasti.
“Don’t let the issue of our children’s education be used as cheap political material,” he said.
