Federal Court upholds constitutionality of vernacular schools in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: 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), reported Sin Chew Daily.

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Lim and Judge Datuk Rhodzhariah Bujang ruled against granting leave, while Judge Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil was in the minority.

This means that the Court of Appeal’s decision on Nov 23 last year, which ruled that vernacular schools in the country are constitutional stands.

More to come