A rally in protest of the government’s failure to address the acute shortage of Chinese-educated teachers for Chinese schools drew thousands from across the country today.

The three hour rally at the New Era College in Kajang, Selangor was organised by Chinese education umbrella group Dong Zong over a problem that has spanned three decades.

The venue of the rally, a privately run college managed by Dong Zong which uses Chinese as a medium for instruction, was draped with gigantic banners on its buildings.

The banners contained quotes from former education minister Hishammuddin Hussein and current deputy education minister Wee Ka Siong, that served as a backdrop for the rally’s to remind the government of its unfulfilled promises.

Addressing the crowd, Dong Zong president Yap Sin Tian drew loud cheers when he took a jab at MCA president Chua Soi Lek, who had earlier called the rally pointless.

“Somebody had said, Dong Zong needs not organise such a rally as it won’t help. But do you think it helps?” asked Yap, who was met with an emphatic “Yes” from the crowd.

Earlier in his speech, Yap chided the education ministry for allegedly suppressing Chinese schools with unfair policies while ignoring persistent demands for a solution to the teacher shortage problem.

More protests if demands not met

Yap said Chinese guilds have made repeated requests to the education minister and prime minister for a meeting over the issue, to no avail.

“In fact, our constitution and education laws clearly state that Chinese schools is a stream that exists since the beginning of our education system.

“But later, they started shifting non-Chinese educated teachers to Chinese schools. This clearly affects the language medium and administrative language of Chinese schools,” he said.

Yap (right) claimed that the ministry’s ultimate goal appears to be to compel Chinese schools to change its medium of instruction.

“Should the authorities fail to rectify the issue, we will hold more protests in more places,” he said.

Six other educationists addressed the crowd after Yap, before four resolutions were tabled.

Among others, the rally passed resolutions to urge the education ministry include the Chinese language in teacher training centres and re-examine laws to ensure plurality in the country’s education policy.

The rally was supported by 250 Chinese guilds and a number of Tamil education groups. It began at 11am and concluded by 1pm.

More than one dozen Pakatan Rakyat leaders were in attendance, including PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution.

Representation from BN included Wee and MCA Youth education bureau chief Chong Sin Woon.