QUICK TAKE: The United Chinese School Committees’ Association (Dong Zong) successfully held its extraordinary general meeting last Sunday (Aug 23) where a new team of office bearers were selected.
Vincent Lau Lee Ming from Sarawak was elected the new president of Dong Zong with Tan Tai Kim as the deputy president.
A total of 46 representatives from 10 states attended the EGM, held in a locked conference room, while supporters of ousted president Yap Sin Tian gate-crashed Dong Zong’s main entrance and damaged shutters in their attempt to gain entry into the locked conference room.
Despite a court order banning Yap and his supporters from stopping the EGM, the supporters still turned up to jeer and spit at the vehicles of representatives as they left after the EGM was over.
Poh Chin Chuan, who is leading the faction against Yap, remained as the secretary-general of Dong Zong while Tan, who was elected president earlier is now the deputy president.
Dong Zong staff and its state level representatives spent the night before the EGM in the Dong Zong building in Kajang.
Community police, the People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) and also police were present to ensure the EGM could carry on uninterrupted.
Yap did not turn up at the EGM.
Many were looking forward to the end of the Dong Zong leadership crisis with the re-election of the new committee members as the Chinese community regarded the democratic process as the appropriate method of resolving the crisis.
Both the High Court and Registrar of Societies (RoS) were also aware of the EGM.
Nevertheless Sin Chew Daily reported that Yap is still adamant in challenging the outcome of EGM while the RoS has also stated that Yap will need to acknowledge the new list of committee members.
If Yap disagrees to do so, this would mean both factions had failed to abide by the RoS directive to resolve the internal dispute and Dong Zong will still stand a chance of being suspended by Sept 6.
A precautionary measure has also been taken in the event of Dong Zong being deregistered with the United Chinese School Teachers’ Association of Malaysia (Jia Zong) taking over the operations of the Unified Examination Certificate.
The question now is why the EGM failed to resolve the internal feud of Dong Zong?
Are both Yap and his former deputy Chow Siew Hon keen to be the last president and deputy of Dong Zong?
Both sides claim to be the guardians of the Chinese education movement.
If they really are, why is one of the two factions behaving in such an unruly manner to the extent of disrupting an EGM despite a court order and refusing to let the dispute come to an end?
If both Yap and Chow can nod their heads and agree with the new list of committee members, RoS will be happy to allow for the continuation of Dong Zong.
Will Dong Zong, an organisation which used to enjoy a special status among Malaysian Chinese as the guardian of Chinese education, now end up as the laughing stalk of the community?
As one of the stakeholders in the Chinese education movement in Malaysia, Dong Zong needs to move with changing times to remain relevant.
It will still need to handle the UEC examination as China and Taiwan have been relying on Dong Zong for the enrolment of students in their institutions as well as for the allocation of scholarships, among others.
Refusing to allow the internal feud to be resolved will set the organisation on the path of self-destruction. -Theantdaily.
Post a Comment