More than 20 national Indian NGOs will stage a protest on Dec 12 at the Wisma Peladang in Petaling Jaya against a perceived grand plan to purge the Tamil language from the education system through the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

The protest is over the government's elimination of Tamil language and Tamil literature under the 10-subject SPM package system from next year.

thiruvenggadam selangor state schools directive from educative minister 240309 02 The joint NGO group organizing chairman A. Thiruvenggadam ( left ) said because of the restrictive ruling, Indian students whose mother tongue is Tamil would not be able to sit for subjects in their language and this is not what 1 Malaysia is all about.

"The problem has arisen because the package is restricted to only 10 subjects. If an Indian student sits for nine subjects, he has only one more subject which can be used up for Tamil language, and will not be able to sit for Tamil Literature.

"And if the Indian student takes all 10 subjects there is no option at all for both the subjects," he said in an interview with Malaysiakini .

The system of the 10 SPM Subject System, he said was a grand plan to eliminate Tamil as a vernacular language in Malaysia and this is not keeping with the 1Malaysia concept the government is propagating.

Abusive as well unfair move

"It is totally unfair and an abuse of the education system to discard Tamil as a language spoken by a major component race of Malaysia. This is a ruling that will mark the progressive closure of Tamil schools in the country.

"Eventually, Tamil students will not be able to take Tamil as a language in STPM and university. This is another plan to eliminate Tamil totally out of the system," he said on behalf of Indian NGOs.

Some of the NGOs jointly participating in the protest are the Malaysian Hindu Sangam, Malaysian Tamil Literature Association, Malaysian Dravidian Association, Hindu Dharma Maha Madhuram and several other Indian NGOs.

Most of the these NGOs constitution provides for the protection and propagation of the Tamil language and Tamil Literature in the community.

"When students are unable to take Tamil language there will not be enough Tamil teachers to teach Tamil in schools in future," he added.

In mid-June this year, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that all students would be able to take a maximum of only 10 subjects in the examination.

The only exceptions would be students in the joint science and religious stream who will be allowed to take 11 subjects next year until the curriculum is streamlined by 2011, after which they too will be able to take a maximum of 10 subjects.

"This means all students would be taking a maximum of 10 subjects in the SPM from 2011 onwards whether they are in national, independent or private schools," he told reporters after chairing the Commonwealth ministerial meeting at the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on June 16.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the six core subjects in the SPM - Bahasa Melayu, English, Islamic Education or Moral Studies, History, Mathematics and Science - would remain the same.