Reported by:
Rachel Koh Huey Shin JR3Z(2)
In association with the Chinese Education Week, the Kuen Cheng Chinese Language Society organized a webinar featuring Mr. Yau Chee Bing (游智斌) about the story of Mr. Sim Mow Yu (沈慕羽) on 16th April 2022 (Saturday), starting from 10.30 a.m. till 12.30 p.m.. This event is obligatory for all Junior Middle 3 students to attend. The main purpose of this webinar is to increase the awareness of the importance of Chinese Education amongst all students.
Mr. Yau Chee Bing is currently a teacher at Pin Hwa High School while also working as a volunteer tour guide at Memorial Lim Lian Geok. Mr. Yau used to be a diligent Chinese teacher at Kuen Cheng High School for 6 years, and he resigned in 2019. His ambition is to become a storyteller, telling touching stories of Chinese Education. In the past two years, he has been invited to share Chinese Education stories as many as 9 times.
The daily life of Teacher Yao as a volunteer tour guide
Teacher Yau started by narrating the selfless life of Mr. Sim Mow Yu. Mr. Sim was born on 20th July 1913 at Malacca Lorong Hang Jebat. His name “Muyu” has an underlying meaning to it which is “景慕关羽”, hoping that he would follow the spirit of Guan Yu (关羽) to grow up to become an affectionate and righteous person. In 1933, Mr. Sim participated in establishing “Morning Bell Night School” (“晨钟夜学”) for the poor who could not go to school because they needed to work during the day. In December 1950, he proposed the idea to organize National Chinese School Teachers’ Association with Mr. Lim Lian Geok (林连玉). In 1951, he opposed the abolition of dialect schools and served as the research group director in Jiao Zong (教总). Unbeknownst to many, he was also the founder of MCA National Youth (马华青年团).
The four careers of Mr. Sim Mow Yu
During the National Chinese Education Conference 1958, Mr. Sim proposed that the government should list Mandarin as the official language. “It is essential for a language to be guaranteed by the constitution,” explained Mr. Yau. Due to his active participation in the language movement (语文运动), he was expelled from MCA in 1966. Even so, he was still willing to attend the National Chinese Solidarity Conference upon the invitation of Mr. Tan Siew Sin who expelled him from the MCA. However, the passionate speech he gave during the conference had resulted in numerous lawsuits in the span of two years. Back then, in order to make Mr. Sim give up striving for Chinese Education, the government planned to appoint him as a senator, but he declined the offer, further exhibiting his unwavering determination to promote Chinese Education.
The newspaper of Mr. Sim proposing to list Mandarin as the official language and was expelled from MCA
On 11th October 1987, Mr. Sim Mow Yu objected to the government sending non-Mandarin speaking teachers to take up high positions in Chinese primary schools. As a result, he was detained under the Internal Security Act 1960 on the 28th, and was sent to the Taiping Detention Camp 60 days later. He was given conditional release in June the following year. In 2003, after 57 years of service, he was selected as the longest-serving principal in the country. In this regard, Mr. Yau emphasised that it is not easy to persist in dedicating his life to Chinese Education. If Mr. Sim had not fought so hard for Chinese Education, his future in politics would have been bright. However, he stubbornly insisted on fighting for it, which shows Mr. Sim’s unswerving dedication to Chinese Education. In 2009, Mr. Sim passed away at the age of 97.
The newspaper of Mr. Sim objecting to the government sending non-Mandarin speaking teachers
The newspaper of Mr. Sim and others being detained
Without the efforts of Mr. Sim Mow Yu, Chinese primary schools may deteriorate or even disappear, and Chinese Education will not be available to us today. Through these, it is undeniable that the history ranging from Chinese Education to the whole world is all relevant to our generation. “Upon further reflection, why did Mr. Sim choose to take risks to stand up for Chinese Education and defend human rights when he did not need to? The obvious answer is they will never regret striving for the education of future generations!” said Teacher Yau with intense enthusiasm. Although many regard predecessors of Chinese Education as a group of extremists, Teacher Yau thinks otherwise. Over the years, they have always hoped for everyone to love Malaysia and master all three languages which are Chinese, English and Malay.
“Fool, fool, I am a fool, and you are also a fool. It is a pity that there are not many fools in this world. I hope we will always be fools and influence countless selfish intelligent people in the world.” quoted Mr. Sim Mow Yu to all his students in 1936. Mr. Yau deliberately mentioned this well-known quote to let the students understand that Mr. Sim has strived for Chinese Education all his life and fought for it until the day he left the world. It was never his obligation, but he was willing to do it for Chinese Education!
Mr. Sim’s well-known quote
“As a junior middle three student, how can students contribute to Chinese Education?”
Students can make good use of their talents such as writing, painting, singing, acting and more to enhance the public’s awareness of Chinese Education. For instance, Senior students’ from Chinese High School Batu Pahat collaborated to publish a book about Mr. Lin Huang Sheng (林晃昇). In addition, some even composed two songs named “Wind From Yinzhou” (《风起银州》) and “Original Heart” (《初心》), to praise the never-dying Chinese Education. Those who do not have any skills may visit the Memorial Lim Lian Geok. Teacher Yau said that one’s willingness to learn about the history of Chinese Education is also considered a contribution to Chinese Education.
Books published by Chinese independent secondary school students