TODAY’S Federal Court ruling should put a stop to questions on the legality of vernacular schools, said Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching.

The court has rejected a lawyer’s application to question the existence of vernacular schools in Malaysia, which he claimed to be unconstitutional.

Welcoming the ruling, Teo said she hopes the applicant will stop challenging the status of such schools.

“I would like to congratulate the lawyers from the AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers). This goes to show that the AGC is able to defend vernacular schools in the Federal Court,” she told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

“I hope that the applicant will stop challenging vernacular schools, because as said by many leaders, these schools are an asset for diversity in Malaysia.”

Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed this morning dismissed Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz’s leave application on the grounds that it is within Parliament’s power to form vernacular schools.

Khairul had sought to challenge Parliament’s authority to pass amendments to Sections 17 and 28 of the Education Act 1996, relating to language matters.

He argued that Chinese and Tamil schools’ use of their own languages as the medium of instruction goes against Article 152(1) of the federal constitution, which states that Bahasa Malaysia is the national language. – November 11, 2019.