Appeals Court sets Nov 23 for decision on vernacular schools

The Court of Appeal has scheduled Nov 23 as the date to make a decision on the appeal made by four non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim), regarding the issue of vernacular schools and the use of Mandarin and Tamil in these schools.

Judge Datuk Supang Lian set the date after hearing submissions from lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who represented Mappim and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena).

Supang stated, “We need time to consider the submission as this is a matter of public interest. We reserve the judgment for Nov 23,” while sitting alongside Justices Datuk M. Gunalan and Datuk Azizul Azmi Adnan.

Mappim, Gapena, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), and Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia (I-Guru) are appealing against the decisions of the Kuala Lumpur and Kota Baru High Courts, which dismissed their suits in December 2021 and May 2022, respectively.

In December 29, 2021, High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, dismissed the lawsuits brought by the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS), Mappim, Gapena, and Isma. GPMS did not file an appeal.

Mohd Nazlan ruled that the existence and establishment of vernacular schools and the use of Mandarin and Tamil languages in these schools were constitutional.

On May 29 last year, Kota Baru High Court judicial commissioner Abazafree Mohd Abbas, who is now a High Court judge, also ruled that the existence of vernacular schools was constitutional and dismissed the suit filed by I-Guru.

In the suit filed in December 2019, GPMS, Mappim, Gapena, and Isma sued several parties, including the government, Chinese educationist groups Dong Zong and Jiao Zong, Persatuan Thamizhar Malaysia, and Persatuan Tamilar Thurunal (Perak).

I-Guru, on the other hand, sued the education minister and the government of Malaysia, seeking a declaration that Section 28 and Section 17 of the Education Act 1996 are inconsistent with Article 152 of the Federal Constitution and are therefore void and of no effect.

The Malaysia Chinese Language Council, the Malaysia Tamil Neri Kalagam Association, the Confederation of Former Tamil School Pupils, MCA, and the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) were allowed to intervene in the suit filed by I-Guru.

Prior to this, Mohamed Haniff Khatri, in his counterargument, stated that since education is an official matter, the medium of instruction must be in Malay, and Article 12 of the Federal Constitution, which provides for the right to education, should be given a liberal definition.

He argued that vernacular schools involve Article 152 of the Federal Constitution, which pertains to the use of language as a medium of instruction, and not Article 12.

Senior Federal Counsel Liew Horng Bin, representing the Education Minister and the government, countered this by stating that the use of other languages as the medium of instruction in vernacular primary schools is not in conflict with the Federal Constitution, as the national language is taught as a compulsory subject in these schools. – Bernama