KUALA LUMPUR, August 3 — Chinese vernacular education group Dong Jiao Zong has denied reports by Sin Chew Daily and Utusan Malaysia among others that they are holding a protest against the introduction of Khat (Arabic calligraphy) in Bahasa Melayu subject by the Education Ministry.

In a press statement today, the group clarified that on August 5 they will hold a closed door meeting involving various multi-racial organisations to discuss the implementation of Khat calligraphy in Bahasa Melayu in Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools.

“The meeting will dissect and analyse the initiative by the Education Ministry in terms of educational pedagogue, effectiveness of the education method and pragmatic reality that Jawi-based khat has on increasing the mastery of Bahasa Melayu,” said the statement.

Furthermore, the group stressed that they are not against the efforts by the ministry to conduct cross-cultural interaction between the various races and promoting good values and cultural integration.

However, they said there must be made transparent discussion that does not create suspicion among the various stakeholders including education groups and the community.

Education Minister Maszlee Malik had mooted the idea recently for Year Four Malay students and said that the move was not aimed at “establishing Islamisation in vernacular schools.”