By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 18: “What exactly is your problem?” Miri MP Chiew Choon Man has challenged preacher Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah over what he described as inflammatory racial remarks portraying a proposed Chinese university campus in Sarawak as a threat to national unity.
Chiew said Ridhuan Tee’s social media post had irresponsibly stirred racial sensitivities by suggesting that Chinese leaders in Sarawak were pushing for a “Chinese university” in Sabah and Sarawak and that such an institution could undermine national unity.
He said the remarks were not a fact-based academic critique but an attempt to lump together Chinese schools, the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), private higher education institutions and proposed university campuses from China, before portraying them collectively as race-based institutions.
He added that if Ridhuan Tee’s reference to a “Chinese university in Sarawak” was directed at a proposal to establish a branch campus of a leading Chinese university in the State, as understood by many, then he should explain his objections.
“What exactly is his problem?” Chiew asked, challenging Ridhuan Tee to explain why a university from China should be treated differently from foreign universities already operating in Sarawak.
In a statement today, Chiew, who is also the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, said a university originating from China did not mean it would be exclusively for ethnic Chinese students, just as universities from Australia, Japan or the United Kingdom were not restricted to people of those nationalities or ethnic backgrounds.
“The country of origin of a university does not determine the ethnicity of its students and should not be used as a pretext to stoke fear,” he slammed.
Chiew said Malaysia’s laws expressly allow and regulate private higher education institutions and branch campuses of foreign universities, pointing to Part IV of the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555).
He said Malaysia had already accepted foreign university branch campuses from countries including Britain, Australia, China and Japan.
Sarawak, he added, had itself benefited from foreign universities, with Curtin University operating in Miri since 1999 and Swinburne University of Technology in Kuching since 2000.
“After more than two decades, have Curtin and Swinburne undermined Sarawak’s unity? Certainly not,” he said.
Instead, Chiew said, the universities had created education and employment opportunities, attracted international students, expanded research and contributed to Sarawak’s economy.
“Why can a university from Australia be accepted, while a university from China is suddenly portrayed as a racial threat?” he asked.
Chiew also hit back at Ridhuan Tee’s sweeping remarks about the Malay-language proficiency of a community, which he said was disparaging and had caused discomfort among Sarawakians.
He warned against turning education into a racial wedge, saying any proposed university campus in Sarawak should be viewed through the lens of educational opportunities rather than ethnicity.
“Do not turn the education of Sarawak’s children into fuel for racial politics,” he said.
Chiew also rejected what he described as an attempt to invoke the Bumiputera of Sabah and Sarawak to justify racial arguments.
“All Sarawakians need greater access to quality education. The establishment of a university does not take away the rights of any community. Instead, it can create more opportunities for education, employment, research and development for everyone,” he said.
He emphasised that cultural and linguistic diversity will not become a barrier to unity.
“Unity is not undermined because a world-renowned university wants to open a campus in Sarawak. Unity is undermined when diversity is deliberately portrayed as a threat, and racial and religious fears are exploited to gain attention and political support,” he said.
Chiew also warned that inflammatory racial posts on social media could deepen tensions between communities.
“If this is the kind of thinking and messaging expressed by someone holding a Doctor of Philosophy, I fear that it could create unease and tension among the different communities.
“Instead, we should welcome and encourage our children to pursue education as far as possible for the good of our country,” he said. — DayakDaily
