AN appeal by four Malay-Muslim groups seeking to declare the use of Tamil or Chinese in vernacular schools as illegal as per the Federal Constitution was dismissed by the Court of Appeal today.

The three-member bench chaired by Justice Supang Lian, which also comprised Justices M. Gunalan and Azizul Azmi Adnan, delivered the unanimous decision.

Azizul said vernacular schools have long been recognised in the legislative framework of the education system even before Malaya’s independence and the existence of the 1957 constitution.

“A contextual construction of the constitution did not support the appellants’ appeal that the existence of such schools is inconsistent with the supreme law of the land,” said Azizul, who read the broad grounds of judgment.

He said unlike a university, a vernacular school is not a public authority and, as such, the use of a non-Malay medium of instruction for teaching is not for official purposes.

No costs were ordered as it is a case of public interest.

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

On May 29, last year, the Kota Baru High Court judicial commissioner Abazafree Mohd Abbas (now High Court judge) also ruled that the existence of vernacular schools is constitutional and he dismissed the suit filed by I-Guru. – November 23, 2023.