THE Kuala Lumpur High Court has dismissed a suit questioning the legality of vernacular schools in Malaysia.

The court, in its decision, said that vernacular schools, and the use of Tamil and Chinese languages in these schools, are in line with the Federal Constitution.

Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who was presiding over the case, said that the 1,800 vernacular schools nationwide catering to 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 the suit.

MCA spokesperson Chan Quin Er, on Twitter, celebrated the win for vernacular schools in Malaysia.

“The High Court has just ruled against the three groups challenging the constitutionality of vernacular schools.

“The power of the government to maintain and establish vernacular schools under the Education Act 1996 is constitutional. We won!,” she tweeted.

The suit was filed 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 were seeking a declaration that the existence of vernacular schools violates the provisions in the Federal Constitution, as Article 152(1) defines Malay as the national language.

The group also sought a declaration that sections 2, 17 and 28 of the Education Act 1996 were inconsistent with Article 152(1) and therefore should be null and void. – December 29, 2021.