Chong Sin Woon should resign immediately as deputy education minister for assuming that national schools breed racism, said DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke.

Such a foolish remark has brought shame to the education ministry, he added.

"He should be ashamed of himself and resign as deputy education minister over his statement that national schools has been breeding the spirit of racism," Loke ( photo ) said in a statement today.

Earlier today, Chong had declared that Chinese school education does not breed any form of racism.

To prove his point, he said, almost all the MCA leaders attended Chinese schools and they are not racists.

"Almost all the MCA leaders are from Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC or National-Type Chinese Schools).

"But those who have been alleged to have revived racial elements, from the DAP, are all from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK or National Schools) and not from SJKC.

"They don't speak Chinese," said Chong, who is also a senator.

However, he later explained that he had no intention of accusing anyone of racism, but rather to emphasise the point that people should not judge any person from their education background alone.

On this, Loke said he concurred with the MCA youth chief that the Chinese education should not be blamed by any party, including Umno leaders, as the cause of racial problems in the country.

The Seremban MP however asked: "Was he trying to surmise that the national school system is breeding the racial spirit?

"If he really thought so, why is he not ashamed of taking the post of deputy education minister at the education ministry, which strives to strengthen the national education system?"

Failure of BN government

Loke, who studied at a national primary school all the way to the university, disagreed that the education system is the cause of racial problems.

He opined that racial politics created by Umno, MCA and MIC, as well as the failure of the BN government to implement policies to unite the people, has bred the racial spirit among the community.

"Chong ( photo ) was quite ignorant of the background of DAP leaders. They came from different education backgrounds instead of a single stream (as claimed)," he said.

Loke added that DAP leaders can speak different languages.

"This is the strength and advantages of DAP leaders as compared to MCA leaders, who are narrow-minded," he said.

Loke also reminded Chong that both DAP former veterans - late Chan Kok Kit and late Chian Heng Kai - were detained under Internal Security Act (ISA) for defending Chinese education.

"Do MCA have such records?" he asked.