Use of Mandarin, Tamil in vernacular schools constitutional, rules High Court
There are about 1,800 vernacular schools in Malaysia catering to an estimated 500,000 students.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has ruled that the use of Tamil and Mandarin in vernacular schools is constitutional.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali also held that the existence of about 1,800 such schools, catering to about 500,000 students, is legal and constitutional.
“These schools are not public authorities as defined in the Federal Constitution to use Malay as the medium of instruction,” he said, in dismissing a suit against the existence of vernacular schools.
Nazlan said one must also look at pre- and post-Merdeka laws and constitution which provided safeguards for the use of these languages and for the schools to exist.
The suit was initiated by the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS), the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena) in December 2019.
They had sought a declaration that Sections 2, 17 and 28 of the Education Act 1996, and the extent to which they provided for the establishment of vernacular schools using Mandarin and Tamil as the main languages, were inconsistent with Article 152(1) of the constitution and considered null and void.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has ruled that the use of Tamil and Mandarin in vernacular schools is constitutional.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali also held that the existence of about 1,800 such schools, catering to about 500,000 students, is legal and constitutional.
“These schools are not public authorities as defined in the Federal Constitution to use Malay as the medium of instruction,” he said, in dismissing a suit against the existence of vernacular schools.
Nazlan said one must also look at pre- and post-Merdeka laws and constitution which provided safeguards for the use of these languages and for the schools to exist.
The suit was initiated by the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS), the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena) in December 2019.
They had sought a declaration that Sections 2, 17 and 28 of the Education Act 1996, and the extent to which they provided for the establishment of vernacular schools using Mandarin and Tamil as the main languages, were inconsistent with Article 152(1) of the constitution and considered null and void.
They plaintiffs can still appeal all the way the Appeals Court, then Federal Court....assuming they have deep pockets....as I am sure they have powerful backers behind the scenes.
ReplyDeleteShould the Sikhs have their own schools too, and what about the other minorities?
ReplyDeleteWhy not if the Sikhs will it?
DeleteDitto too with the other minorities!
The establishment of SRJK(C) & SRJK(T) were been worded into the ORIGInAL documents for the Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957.
It's also part of the FedConstotution!
The vernacular secondary schools r independently run & financially supported by the Nons. There r many melayu students benefitted greatly from these schools.
How blurred r u?
Or u r living under that proverbial well of farts!