MP SPEAKS Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should learn to emulate the ideas of Professor Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin on vernacular schools or grab the bull by its horns to weed out dissidents like former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdullah who is crusading to abolish vernacular schools and to propagate the proliferation of racism and hatred amongst Malaysians.

It is not surprising that Mohd Noor ( photo ), in a conversation with Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia on July 15, 2015, claimed that a single stream education system builds unity and is the way forward in Malaysia, linking it to the recent Low Yat Plaza theft fracas that spiralled into a racial monster. This is also not the first time that he has urged the abolishment of vernacular schools in the country, citing that they are divisive and unconstitutional.

It is an utter shame and disgrace that a bigot masked by a prestigious title like ‘former Appeals Court judge’ who has been given airspace time and time again, namely in a YouTube video on May 12, 2013 claiming that “the betrayal of the Chinese towards the bond of friendship of the Malays, that is the truth; as they plot to grab political power after expropriating economic power” (“ pengkhianatan orang Cina terhadap ikatan setiakawan orang Melayu, itu adalah benar; kerana mereka rancang untuk merampas kuasa politik setelah membolot kuasa ekonomi ”) has again taken the moral high ground to comment and question the existence of vernacular schools in the country and on the education system in the country.

In that same teleconversation, he also appealed that he be given the opportunity to make a media statement on the constitution and the education system in Malaysia.

Deviously and shrewdly disguised as a man who administers justice, he makes nefarious statements pitting races in Malaysia against one another all in the good name of upholding the constitution, and most recently that vernacular schools are unconstitutional. Baffling indeed coming from a ‘learned’ man, that it does not say in the federal constitution that vernacular schools are unconstitutional and that single stream schools are constitutional.

Najib, as premier, as the founder of the Global Moderates Movement, as the man behind 1Malaysia, has yet to react on the comment(s) made in the past and most recently on polarisation of ethnicities in Malaysia by a former Appeals Court judge, let alone warn his party mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia not to feature this man in their publications.

Instead, it was Prof Dr Shamsul Amri ( photo ), a social anthropology lecturer from UKM, who had the nerve to critique Mohd Noor that his suggestion for a single-stream education system clearly shows that the former judge does not understand the history of the country and that vernacular schools have been a symbol of our heritage.

Perhaps he should shrug off the racial deadweight pulling him and wake up to reality that children whose primary language (mother tongue) is not the language of instruction in school are more likely to drop out of school or fail in early grades (Unesco 2008).

In a Parliamentary reply from the Education Ministry dated March 23, 2015, the ministry has carried out a process to standardise the implementation of the Bahasa Malaysia Language Curriculum for Primary Schools (KSSR) for Year 4 pupils to bridge the gap in the command of Bahasa Malaysia for students from Tamil and Chinese schools, as well as the MBMMBI aimed to uphold Bahasa Malaysia and to strengthen the English language.

Ball in ministry’s court

The ball is also in the court of the ministry to ensure that students from vernacular schools are also well-equipped in their command of Bahasa Malaysia and English.

In October 2014 at the official opening of the 61st MCA annual general meeting, the prime minister assured that the government will continue to uphold the right to mother tongue education, after an Umno division leader had proposed a discussion to abolish Chinese-medium schools.

It appears that the PM only makes reassuring statements at BN component party events.

It was birdbrained of the PM to assure MCA on the position of vernacular schools, as the existence of vernacular schools is protected under Article 12 as enshrined in the federal constitution. He should have instead ticked off his Umno henchman on that factious remark.

One would have expected the prime minister to take the same stand now to negate Mohd Noor on the abolition of vernacular schools, but Malaysians are faced with a brick wall of a prime minister.

Perhaps Mr Prime Minister, as the advocate for transformation, you should take a firm position on the idea put forward by the former Appeals Court judge on vernacular schools and after that, attempt a minor recovery from the scandalous 1MDB saga by demanding that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) unblock the Sarawak Report website for their flimsy reason of maintaining ‘national stability’ and that it had violated national laws with its recent exposé on the multi-pronged involvement of Prime Minister Najib.

With the absolute power that the prime minister is bestowed with, Najib must step up, come forward and send a clear and strong message to the likes of former Court of Appeals judge Mohd Noor on the position of vernacular schools in the country as enshrined in the federal constitution.

KASTHURI PATTO is the MP for Batu Kawan and vice-chairperson of Wanita DAP, Penang.