Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today dismissed claims that the introduction of Arabic language in national schools was aimed at curbing Islamic extremism by roping in students who would otherwise opt for religious schools.

"No, that has nothing to do with Jemaah Islamiah (the regional terror group)...by teaching the Malays to speak Arabic is not going to resolve the issue of extremism and terrorism, in any event," he explained at a press conference alongside the Malaysian Education Summit 2004 in Petaling Jaya today.

He said the main reason to include Arabic, Mandarin and Tamil subjects in national schools since early this year was to make these schools more competitive.

"With the additional subjects, we hope that national schools could be turned into the school of choice," he added.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who addressed the summit earlier, said high-quality lessons in these three languages are taught in national schools to correct parents' perception that certain subjects were not taught well in these schools.

Hishammuddin was earlier asked to elaborate on whether government's move to include Arabic language in the education system was due to the fact that most of the alleged Malaysian Islamic militants linked to JI had received their early education in local madrasah (religious school).

Understanding the al-Quran

Observers noted that teaching Arabic could sway away students from the private madrasah to national schools and this could ensure that the younger generation return to the "mainstream" education system.

Last September, former deputy home minister Chor Chee Heung claimed that the 13 Malaysian students arrested in Karachi, Pakistan, are future leaders of JI and said the group received their early education at Ma'had Tarbiyah Islamiah Luqman Al-Hakim - a religious school based in Johor.

The now-defunct Luqmanul Hekiem madrasah in Ulu Tiram, Johor was also said to have produced JI members linked to the Bali bombings and the Jakarta JW Marriott Hotel bomb attack.

Commenting further, Hishammuddin said that teaching the languages also helps to address parents' concerns over the lack of emphasis on language subjects in national schools.

"By learning Arabic, students will have the ability to read the al-Quran and understand that it does not espouse any political agenda or spread extremist ideas," he said.

Non-Muslims who learn the Arabic language in national schools can also rectify the wrong perception that Muslims are terrorists and aggressive, he added.

To another question on whether students would be banned from studying in Pakistan, the minister said he was ready to look into the suggestion.