Feelings grew amongst the Chinese community that such schools were in grave danger, and Sim appealed to the community to pull together. Soon after, over 3000 Chinese educators from around the country gathered at a temple in Singapore for a protest, demanding that the Malaysian government listen to the will of the people and remove the non-Chinese-speaking principals and teachers. They also called for all Chinese elementary schools to go on strike.
此舉讓華社有「華小即將變質滅亡」的危機感，在沈慕羽呼籲下，華社各界力爭到底，不久全國各地三千多位華教人士齊集吉隆坡天后宮舉行抗議大會，要求當局俯順民意，調走不諳華語的老師及校長，並發動全國華小罷課。