Malaysia Hindu Sangam expresses its gratitude to the legal system which has upheld the rights of vernacular schools! In yesterday’s ruling, the High Court dismissed a lawsuit seeking the abolishment of vernacular schools using Mandarin and Tamil.
The lawsuit was filed by three parties against the establishment of Tamil and Mandarin schools claiming that the existence of vernacular schools is in violation of the Federal Constitution. However, the plaintiffs had failed to prove their case. In his judgment, Justice Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali has stated that contrary to the allegation made, the Federal Constitution, in fact, expressly protected teaching in mother tongues such as Tamil and Mandarin.
The Tamil schools in Malaysia have a history of 200 years. Various movements and individuals have worked ceaselessly to protect and strengthen the Tamil schools. Facing many hurdles, Tamil schools are surviving these days, and some have even achieved excellence in various aspects.
Malaysia Hindu Sangam also congratulated Mr. Arun Dorasamy who had tirelessly and fearlessly fought for vernacular education with a team of 30 lawyers in this case. Our sincere thanks to all of them.
We truly believe and reiterate that mother-tongue education is not a bar to unity in our nation. All vernacular schools faithfully follow the standard curriculum set by the Ministry of Education. The culture of different races are taught from primary schools. Students in Tamil schools are inculcated with good values including unity and harmony. As alleged by some, the Tamil schools have never been the breeding grounds of disharmony or threat to national unity. However, there is ample evidence that Malay medium schools, especially the secondary schools where polarisation among the different races is openly practiced.
In the recent Annual General Meeting of Malaysia Hindu Sangam, a resolution was passed to urge the Malaysian government to uphold and strengthen the Tamil National-type schools and ensure that mother tongue education is protected.
