It is hoped that with the hundreds of thousands of graduates and high-caliber professionals these schools have churned out over the decades, the unity government will give the matter a fairer consideration. We are not asking too much. Are we?

During the 15th general election, Pakatan Harapan was the first to come up with its “Tawaran Harapan” manifesto on November 1.

The 39-chapter, 94-page manifesto came with ten priorities, of which the local Chinese community was most concerned about UEC recognition and institutionalization of allocation for independent Chinese high schools.

The manifesto did not mention anything about “institutionalization of allocation for independent Chinese high schools” although allocation will definitely get into the annual budgets provided that the UEC certificate is recognized by the government.

The PH manifesto only promised to “continue to fight for” the recognition of UEC. Although the Chinese community feels somewhat disappointed with a lack of affirmative promise, at least there is still some “space for further discussions.” Hopefully!

The unity government of Anwar Ibrahim is still less than 80 days old as of today. While the ministers have been working very hard trying to fulfill the promises made in the “Tawaran Harapan,” the way it handles the UEC recognition which the coalition promised to “continue to fight for” in black and white, is utterly disappointing.

In a written reply to PAS president Hadi Awang’s question, education minister Fadhlina Sidek said the government was still not ready to recognize the UEC or provide allocation for independent Chinese secondary schools.

We have good reasons to believe that the issue had yet to be discussed in the unity government’s cabinet, but is this the way Fadhlina handled the issue in such a rash manner?

As DAP’s MP for Cheras Tan Kok Wai has said, the minister lacks experience and sensitivity, and her written reply was believed to have been copied and pasted by her official from the script inherited from the previous administration.

If the minister is inexperienced, has not carefully read the election manifesto, and is using a copied script that she herself might not have browsed through before sending it out, then what is the point of changing a new government?

What happens to the unity government’s promise that it will accord equitable treatment to all Malaysians irrespective of race and political affiliation?

We believe minister Fadhlina indeed has some explanation to do.

While we understand that UEC recognition could be very tacky and tough, why the rush to have it squarely denied?

Fadhlina said the government would not provide allocation for independent Chinese secondary schools, but her deputy Lim Hui Ying vowed that she and the minister would do their utmost to fight for it, and “hopefully” will bring the good news to the local Chinese community soon.

During the last PH administration, the government provided RM12 million and RM15 million for 60 plus two independent Chinese high schools in the country in 2019 and 2020 respectively. According to Dong Zong’s statistics, the total enrollment for the country’s independent Chinese schools in 2022 was 79,700, and if the RM15 allocation were to be distributed evenly to all these schools, each of the schools would get RM242,000, or RM188 for every student.

Such an allocation will be insignificant for a school that has fewer than 300 students. Anyone familiar with the operation of independent Chinese secondary schools should know that each school typically suffers a budgetary deficit in excess of a million ringgit, or about RM2,000 short for each student!

As a result, they have to organize fund-raising campaigns over the years to make up for the shortfall. Those concerned about the future of Chinese education in this country argue jokingly that the donations are like the “second tax” the Chinese have to fork out each year!

The RM15 million annual allocation for 60+2 schools and almost 80,000 students is simply insufficient, but this is a compromise we have to accept as the government will need to stick to the principle of its policies being “beneficial to all rakyat.”

Even though the amount is small, at least that’s a good start, and we hope the unity government will be more generous when it comes to allocation for independent Chinese schools, making it institutionalized and more transparent.

It is our sincere hope that with the hundreds of thousands of graduates and high-caliber professionals these schools have churned out over the decades, the government will give this matter a fairer consideration. We are not asking too much. Are we?

Lastly, we hope that the minister’s remark that the government is not yet ready to recognize the UEC certificate and provide allocation for independent Chinese schools is but an unintentional oversight, and we hope discussions are still open for these issues!