KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has agreed with MCA’s call to restore the name of a Chinese vernacular school to SJKC Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin.
Ahmad Zahid expressed his support for the proposal made by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong to retain the name of the late MCA founding member for the school.
“I request that the name SJKC Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin be restored. I agree with the MCA president. This is not about race.
“I will raise the matter,” the Umno president said during Barisan’s 50th anniversary celebration here yesterday.
Earlier, Dr Wee had proposed that Barisan stand firm in restoring Omar’s name at the school located in Selangor.
“Recently, the Education Minister launched the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of SJKC Gamuda Cove.
“I noticed that Tun Omar’s name had been removed from the original name of the school, which had been approved by former education minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid on Oct 26, 2017, during the Barisan administration,” he said.
“Does Tun Omar not deserve national recognition? This decision was communicated to his widow, Toh Puan Dr Aishah Ong, seven years ago.
“The media also reported on the Education Ministry’s decision in 2017. Where is the universal justice for Tun Omar?” he said.
Dr Wee further elaborated on Omar’s contributions, stating that he played a role in the country’s fight for independence and served as a post-independence minister in the Cabinet of the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.
“Tun Omar embraced Islam in 1961 and served as president of the Dewan Negara from 1973 to 1980, during the early years of Barisan’s formation in 1974,” he added.
