Education minister says open to restoring SJKC Tun Omar Ong school name

BUTTERWORTH, Dec 8 — The Ministry of Education (MOE) has taken note of the proposal to restore the original name of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin, in Dengkil, Selangor, which was changed to SJKC Gamuda Cove.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said that while the MOE is open to suggestions, any proposal must undergo the necessary processes.

“We have a procedure, and so far, I don’t see it as a difficult matter. We are always open to listening to all perspectives.

“We will take note of the proposal to revert the school’s name. Suggestions have been made, and we will listen and consider them,” she told reporters, after participating in the Khazanah Reformasi Walk in Seberang Jaya, today.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced, during the opening of the Barisan Nasional (BN) Golden Jubilee Celebration in Kuala Lumpur, that he would bring the proposal to reinstate the school’s original name to the Cabinet for discussion.

The BN chairman said that the proposal, put forward by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, is not a racial issue, as it pertains to the name of the school that was approved in 2017.

In his speech, Wee explained that the name of MCA founder, Tun Omar, was approved by former Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, on Oct 26, 2017, but was omitted during the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of SJKC Gamuda Cove, on Dec 4.

Omar Ong, the founder of MCA, was a prominent independence advocate, and a minister in the Cabinet of Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj. — Bernama