Chinese dissent in Malaysia over Jawi script in schools raises alarm in Mahathir’s government
- Prime minister warns of ‘chaos’ after Chinese education group announces plan to protest the Arabic script being taught in vernacular schools
- The government has largely walked back the planned change but concerns about the ‘Islamisation’ of education have been stirred
Dong Jiao Zong describes itself as an education movement for local Chinese-language schools. Earlier this month it announced plans to hold its congress on December 28 to protest a move by the Education Ministry to have local schools teach khat – a calligraphic form of the Arabic script, or Jawi, used to write the Malay language.
Jawi used to be the standard script for Malay but has since been replaced by the Latin alphabet, although many areas retain Jawi for specialised religious or cultural purposes.
Mahathir has previously been critical of Dong Jiao Zong and again stressed the need for people to “be considerate about other people’s feelings” in a multiracial country.
“You do that kind of thing, you will get a reaction,” he said of the opposition to khat being taught. “If you start making attacks against other races or going against the constitution, the end result will be chaos.”
Jawi calligraphy first became an issue in July when the government said it would introduce khat lessons in all Malaysian schools, including “vernacular” schools where lessons are taught in Tamil or Mandarin.
