KUALA LUMPUR: Politicians and interested parties alike were urged to stop playing up the issue of pupils of a Chinese primary school in Seremban singing the national anthem in Mandarin, especially for accusing the pupils of being ‘unpatriotic’.
Tan Sri T.C Goh, president of The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) opined that the pupils involved in the one-minute and 11-second video clip taken on April 24, 2016 should not be accused of being ‘unpatriotic’, ‘irresponsible’ or ‘inciting’.
He reckoned that the incident was purely an unintended mistake and an isolated case, hence it was too much and unfair to accuse the pupils involved of being ‘unpatriotic’. He was concerned that such a serious charge may have a far-reaching adverse effect on the pupils.
“Investigations carried out by the Ministry of Education found that it was done to help pupils better understand the meaning, purpose, and protocol when singing the national anthem Negaraku. It did not take place in any official event of the school. The public should get the facts of the entire incident right, before making such a harsh criticism,” he said in a statement issued on Monday.
He further opined that although the method of singing the national anthem was incorrect, it was nonetheless done with good intention and no less an innovative way of instilling patriotism in the pupils.
Goh thus urged politicians and interested parties to stop playing up the issue and let it end here.
He also supported the Chinese version of Negaraku (Wo De Guo Jia) that is found in textbooks for vernacular schools, to help pupils better understand the meaning of the national anthem, describing it as a right move and should be preserved.
Published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Kuala Lumpur, the 162-page textbook has been around since 2014, with its third edition published last year.
Meanwhile, Goh urged the Chinese community in the country to be more observant of the law of the country, so as to avoid creating issues unnecessarily.
He concurred with prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that, the national anthem shall be sung in official language, which is Bahasa Malaysia, and it should not be altered or amended in any way whenever it is performed.
He pointed out that such requirement is clearly stipulated in the National Anthem Act 1968 and that every Malaysian should take note of this.
“All these years, the Chinese community, the Chinese primary schools and Chinese independent schools, and Chinese organizations in the country, Huazong included, never failed to stand up and sing along whenever the national anthem was played during official functions or gatherings,” he observed.-pr/BNN
