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MCA ridicules Azmin's defence of Anwar over Chinese schools
Published:  Sep 24, 2016 3:09 PM
Updated: 9:05 AM
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The blame game over the vernacular schools controversy has continued with an MCA leader calling PKR deputy president Azmin Ali's defence of his party de facto chief, Anwary Ibrahim, laughable.

Yesterday, Azmin slammed MCA President Liow Tiong Lai for claiming that Anwar had curtailed the development of Chinese schools when he was education minister 25 years ago, reported Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

"It is a baseless allegation and I know it because I was Anwar’s private secretary then,” FMT reported the Selangor menteri besar saying yesterday.

MCA central committee member Ti Lian Ker in a statement today ridiculed Azmin's response, saying his "mere bare denial" was "a laugh".

"He cannot provide any facts or figures to back up his attempted lame defence of his boss," said Ti.

"Wasn't it during Anwar Ibrahim tenure and influence that the Education Ministry disallowed any vernacular schools to be built on government land reserved for schools?

"Wasn't it Anwar who had insisted on appointing non-Mandarin speaking headmasters and senior assistants in vernacular schools despite vehement protest from MCA and educationalist?

"This was an attempt to undermine the schools and had led to a racial tension culminating in the infamous 'Operasi Lallang' by former premier Dr Mahathir (Mohamad)," asked Ti.

"Hadn't Anwar Ibrahim admitted his mistake and saying he had wronged the vernacular schools?" he added, citing a blog article by DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang in April 2007.

"Was the admission Lim Kit Siang's spinning or was it one of the many Pakatan's political lies calculated for the sole purpose of fishing for Chinese votes in 2007?"

He said opposition politicians should "admit their mistakes or just keep quiet" and not play "holier than thou or demand transparency " to BN while hiding their past "political ugliness".

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