Victory of efforts to defend mother tongue education
KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Court’s historic decision to dismiss the leaves to appeal filed by two non-government organisations to seek a declaration of vernacular schools and the use of Chinese and Tamil languages as unconstitutional is a victory of the Chinese community’s collective and united efforts to defend mother tongue education.
Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) president Datuk Michael Lui said the court decision of compliance with the Federal Constitution indeed protects the rights of ethnic minorities to use their mother tongue languages, which is conducive to the future development of Chinese education.
“I hope that our Chinese primary schools will develop better and continue to cultivate and carry forward,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Lui emphasized that the landmark judgment of the Federal Court affirmed the legal status of mother-tongue education and the equal rights and interests that all ethnic groups in our country should enjoy. It also helped to consolidate the characteristics of our country’s pluralistic society and was conducive to the harmony and development of the country.
“We hope that the government will further strengthen and deepen our country’s existing vernacular education system, and provide fair and equal rights to the development of mother-tongue education for all ethnic groups, be committed to promoting the overall development of national education, and cultivate more talents for national development,” he said.
Lui reiterated that the verdict provides a positive message that mother-tongue medium of instruction in the teaching and learning process in national type Chinese and Tamil schools is constitutional. He said all Chinese primary schools use the official curriculum from the Ministry of Education.
“The educational quality of Chinese primary schools and the importance of mastering the Chinese language for children have gradually been recognized by parents of non-Chinese ethnic groups and have become the priority choice of many non-Chinese parents. Nowadays, the number of non-Chinese students in Chinese primary schools across the country has reached more than 100,000. It is time for us to focus on fulfilling the responsibility of Chinese education in our national type Chinese primary schools, we need to improve and uplift our quality of teaching to benefit all students. Allowing children of other ethnic groups to understand Chinese culture and its connotations also play an important role in mutual understanding and racial harmony,” said Lui.
On Tuesday, the Federal Court has ruled that vernacular schools are constitutional in a majority two-one decision, dismissing the appeal of two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which sought to declare that the use of Chinese and Tamil languages as the medium of instruction in vernacular schools goes against the Federal Constitution.
A three-member Federal Court bench chaired by Judges Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan denied a leave to appeal by the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Coalition of National Writers’ Association (Gapena).
Justice Lim and Justice Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang dismissed the application of both petitioners, while Justice Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil dissented.
This means that the Appeals Court’s ruling affirming that the existence and establishment of vernacular schools and the use of Chinese and Tamil languages in those schools are constitutional stands.