THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today set November 2 for case management of an application to withdraw a suit to declare vernacular schools unconstitutional.

Lawyer Abdul Rahim Sinwan, representing Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, said the hearing set for today was postponed due to the conditional movement control order in effect in Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur.

Khairul filed the suit in January seeking a declaration that Sections 28 and 17 of the Education Act 1996 (Act 550), which allow the use of Chinese and Tamil as the medium of instruction in vernacular schools, contravened Article 152 of the federal constitution.

The said article states Malay is the national language.

He named the Malaysian government and the Education Ministry as the respondents.

Khairul subsequently applied to withdraw the suit on grounds a similar suit had been filed by the Federation of Peninsula Malay Students, Majlis Pembangunan Pendidikan Islam Malaysia and Ikatan Guru-guru Muslim Malaysia.

Three intervenors in the case, who are the Chinese Language Council, Tamil Language Association and Confederation of Former Tamil School Pupils, objected to the withdrawal. – Bernama, October 21, 2020.