State executive councillor Rahmad Mariman said the state education department had engaged with SJKC Jasin Lalang on the proposal to rebrand the school, but it was not well-received.

He told the state assembly that the latest proposal will see the Melaka education department holding engagement sessions with SJKC Simpang Bekoh’s management and parent-teacher association to present the same idea.

“The school’s management proposed several options, including accepting the new name while keeping the original or wholly adopting the new name, provided that a special room be established to house all documents related to the history of SJKC Simpang Bekoh,” he said.

Rahmad was replying to a question from Low Chee Leong (PH-Kota Laksamana) who wanted to know about the status of the proposal, which was part of efforts to strengthen Melaka-China relations that have existed for over 620 years.

Rahmad, who is education, higher education and religious affairs committee chairman, said the decision to engage with SJKC Simpang Bekoh was because the school is categorised as “under-enrolled”, with just two Chinese, nine Malay students and seven teachers.

Admiral Cheng Ho, also known as Zheng He, led seven major naval expeditions between 1405 and 1433 across Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Melaka was a crucial stopover for his fleet, and his voyages played a significant role in establishing Melaka as a key port in regional trade, contributing to its golden age in the 15th century.