KAJANG, Apr 5 (Sin Chew Daily) — The United Chinese School Teachers' Association (Jiao Zong) forms a committee to initiate trans-ethnic dialogue in its bid to discard its image as a racist group, says its chairman Cheah Lek Aee.

Cheah, the new chairman taking over Jiao Zong since late December, said the organist would be working hard to explain its role, characteristics and background to non-Chinese groups in the country.

Jiao Zong plans to have more interactions with various ethnic groups and collaborate with them in education matters.

In an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily, Cheah said Jiao Zong would be organizing more activities involving various ethnic groups. They would be invited to have dialogues with Jiao Zong,

By sharing its history and role in short video clips, Jiao Zong is keen to work with various groups on education issues.

The trans-ethnic exchange committee is one of the highlights of Jiao Zong under Cheah.

Cheah, who was the treasurer of Jiao Zong, took over the baton from Datuk Ong Chiow Chuen who stepped down after leading the group for 26 years. 

Cheah said some racists branded Jiao Zong as a racist group as they saw Jiao Zong's role of defending Chinese education as extremist.

"Some of the more open-minded non-Chinese do not share the same view and they understand our aim to defend Chinese education," he said.

Some non-Chinese groups have labeled Jiao Zong as a racist group manipulating racial sentiments in rejecting the introduction of Jawi calligraphy in Chinese primary schools together with United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) back in 2019.

Cheah said the Chinese community is familiar with the role played by Jiao Zong but many non-Chinese groups were of the view Jiao Zong did not allow Chinese primary school pupils to learn Jawi and even the Malay language.

In fact, Jiao Zong was only giving its suggestions, said Cheah.

"The best way for Jiao Zong to dispel the misunderstanding is to approach the non-Chinese groups," he said.