KUALA LUMPUR – The Federal Court ruling today, which declared the constitutionality of vernacular Chinese and Tamil schools, is a win for freedom of choice in education, said MCA spokesperson Chan Quin Er.
“Malaysians can now rest assured knowing their children’s right to mother tongue education is protected,” she said in a Facebook post.
Earlier, the apex court dismissed a leave application by two non-governmental organisations to challenge a Court of Appeal decision declaring the use of Mandarin and Tamil in vernacular schools as constitutional.
Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan, leading a three-member bench, dismissed the application by the two NGOs to obtain leave to pursue their appeal at the top court.
The two NGOs are the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Confederation of National Writers’ Association (Gapena).
The NGOs were seeking to appeal against a decision by the Court of Appeal declaring the use of Mandarin and Tamil as the medium of instruction in vernacular schools as constitutional.
“This case began in 2019 and has seen two high court decisions and three Court of Appeal justices,” said Chan.
“While legal opinions may differ, this definitive ruling clarifies the legal status of vernacular schools, setting a precedent for future cases.”
She expressed gratitude to everyone involved, including MCA’s researchers and the party’s legal team led by Datuk Ben Chan, for representing MCA in court regarding the matter and for their contributions to today’s victory.
“We are also thankful to the other respondents and their lawyers for joining forces with us,” she added.
In November, the appellate court dismissed appeals brought by Mappim, Gapena, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia (I-Guru) in its verdict that vernacular schools are not public authorities and therefore the use of Tamil or Mandarin as the mediums of instruction in these schools is not prohibited.
Isma and I-Guru later opted out of filing for leave with the Federal Court to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision.
The four groups, plus the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students, filed the original suit in 2019 seeking to declare vernacular schools unconstitutional.
They named several parties, including the Malaysian government, Chinese education associations Dong Zong and Jiao Zong, Persatuan Thamizhar Malaysia, and Persatuan Tamilar Thurunal (Perak) as defendants. – February 20, 2024