DAP national vice-chair M Kulasegaran called on the parties representing Indian Malaysian interests in the BN to support the building of a Tamil secondary school for which land has been offered by the Pakatan Rakyat-led Penang state government.

Speaking at the Penang International Tamil Conference 2014 in George Town today, the MP for Ipoh Barat said BN parties were initially in favour of such a school but when the Penang government offered land for its construction, the”parties support for the idea suddenly died down."

"We should set aside our partisanship and work to realise an idea that is necessary for the upkeep of Tamil language and culture in Malaysia," the Ipoh lawyer said on the sidelines of the conference.

The three-day conference has drawn Tamil language scholars and exponents from the ethnic group's diaspora throughout the world.

The conference was opened this morning by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to preside at its close tomorrow .

In his speech, Kulasegaran ( left ) drew attention to a little known fact that the Tamil language is actually the world's oldest in the sense that how it is written and spoken today is no different from what it was 5,000 years ago when it was in vogue in the Indus Valley civilisation.

"Despite the richness of the language, it is not considered as a qualifying standard for admission to university," he lamented.

He said Tamils in the country were pained by this disregard for the literary merits of their language and its ability to transmit human wisdom.

The parliamentarian said Malaysia could become a centre for the Tamil education outside of Tamil Nadu in India because and this can raise the country's "profile in international education."

He said not enough Indian Malaysians sent their children to Tamil language schools.

"Only about 60 percent do so compared to 90 percent of Chinese who send their children to Chinese-medium schools."

Kulasegaran said Indians should demonstrate support for Tamil education because the language is a repository of their culture.

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