The first challenge was ensuring that Chinese became one of the four official languages (Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil) after independence, as well bringing Chinese-language primary schools into the government education system.
第一場硬仗是爭取獨立後華文並列為四種官方語文之一（巫文、英文、華文、淡米爾文），以及將華小納入未來政府教育體制。