SHAH ALAM, 4 March 2009: The planned peaceful gathering of 100,000 people in front of Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to hand over a memorandum to abolish the teaching of mathematics and science in English will proceed even without a police permit.
Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad, chairperson of the Movement for the Abolition of the Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (GMP), said they were not demonstrating and they just wanted to hand over the memorandum to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.
“What’s wrong with that? I think it doesn’t need a permit,” he told reporters here last night after a meeting between GMP and other organisations which support the move.
He said the eight-page memorandum worded in palace language was signed by him and five GMP members.
He added that GMP had already contacted Tuanku Mizan’s senior private secretary.
GMP secretary Hasni Abas said the movement submitted the application for the permit on Saturday but had yet to receive approval from the police.
He claimed that GMP had so far received the support of 132 bodies representing students, workers, ulama as well as parent-teacher associations.
He added that an indigenous chief in Tapah, Perak, had also agreed to send two busloads of orang asli to participate in the gathering. — Bernama
See also:
Scaling the language barrier
