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Dong Jiao Zong must change with
the times, says Hishammuddin
EDUCATION Minister Datuk Seri His-
hammuddin Hussein says Chinese edu-
cationist group Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ) has
to change its thinking, the same way that
Umno needs to change, to keep abreast
of the times.
He said if DJZ cannot think out of the
box in handling education issues, the
problems will never be resolved.
“Life has to go on, not only must
Umno and the Malay organisations look
forward, DJZ and other Chinese organisa-
tions should do likewise,” the outgoing
Umno Youth chief told Nanyang Siang
Pau when asked to comment on DJZ’s
struggles and the wish of its leaders to
meet him, in an interview ahead of the
party’s general assembly.
Hishammuddin said in fact, like DJZ,
he also hopes the number of Chinese
school students would grow as these
students, who speak fluent Mandarin,
can tap into the huge Chinese market
and benefit the country.
On DJZ leaders’ desire to meet him,
he said he has no problem meeting any-
body but it must be constructive, above
race, and with an emphasis on nation
building.
Otherwise, any meeting would be
meaningless, he said.
DJZ had made several failed attempts
to meet Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi after he assumed the premier-
ship in 2003.
In 2007, DJZ turned their attention
to Hishammuddin following his remarks
early that year that he was willing to
meet the movement’s leaders.
He was reported to have said that DJZ
leaders must be sincere if they wanted
to have a dialogue with him.
On this point, he again made it clear
that he is willing to meet anyone to dis-
cuss matters related to education but it
must be sincere and in the context of
the overall educational scenario in the
country.
Ka Ting: I won’t interfere
in party affairs
Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
MCA’s immediate past president, Datuk
Seri Ong Ka Ting, has promised not to
interfere in the party’s affairs now that
he has stepped down from its top post.
However, he reminded the current
leadership that it has to reduce its in-
ternal conflicts to a minimum and to
change to gain the support of the
public, particularly the Chinese.
Ong said this at a party dinner
held to pay tribute to him and
the party’s immediate past com-
mittee at Wisma MCA in Kuala
Lumpur on Monday night.
He also revealed how he felt
on March 8 last year when the re-
sults of the general election were
announced. “I rushed from my
(Kulai parliamentary) constitu-
ency to Kuala Lumpur with this
thought: ‘How (is MCA going) to
continue to represent the Chinese
community in the government as
MCA was rejected, winning only
15 parliamentary and 31 state
seats out of 40 parliamentary and
90 state seats contested?’
“To show that MCA was
ready to take the rap, I called for
a meeting (of party leaders) and
announced that I would not join
the new cabinet.
“That had salvaged some lost
pride for the party as MCA rep-
resents the Chinese community
N.E.R.D. gig was a
success, says organiser
KUALA LUMPUR: A concert
organiser yesterday denied for-
eign press reports that a group
of artistes who took part in the
Sunburst KL International Music
Festival last Saturday had their
passports detained.
Pineapple Concerts Sdn Bhd
managing director Razman Ra-
zali said in a statement that the
concert, held at the Bukit Kiara
Equestrian Club & Country Resort,
was a success and that through
discussions with the relevant
agencies, all matters were amica-
bly resolved.
However, the company con-
firmed that Milenda Events, the
agency appointed by the company
to manage all permits and licens-
ing applications and submissions
relating to Sunburst KL 2009, is no
longer associated with all present
and future Pineapple Concerts
| WEDNESDAY MARCH 25 2009
and we cannot be seen as leaders
trying to cling on to government
posts, too greedy to let go.”
After stepping down from the
government post, he persevered
in helming the party until its
elections on Oct 18.
Ong admitted that the seven
months between the general
election, where the party suffered
a major setback, and the October
party elections were anything
but pleasant. It was a trying time
and full of challenges but he was
glad that the party had chosen a
new team in the most transpar-
ent way possible.
And when he said “the cen-
tral committee headed by (party
president Datuk Seri) Ong Tee
Keat is elected in the most demo-
cratic fashion”, the San Choon
Hall reverberated to a thunder-
ous applause.
He urged Tee Keat’s team
members to always serve with
the aspirations of the people up-
permost in their hearts.
events, with immediate effect.
An AFP report from Jakarta
yesterday said an Indonesian pro-
moter has threatened to sue the
management of US hip-hop group
N.E.R.D. for cancelling a show in
Jakarta after they ran into trouble
with the law in Malaysia.
N.E.R.D. were due to play in
the Indonesian capital on Sunday
but called off the gig over fears of
similar trouble with Indonesian po-
lice, local promoters Java Festival
Production said in a statement.
It said the trio were “depressed”
by their treatment in Malaysia,
where they were questioned by
authorities after a performance in
Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Bernama reported on Monday
that immigration department of-
ficials took statements from the
group as they had not received of-
ficial permission to perform there.