At a bipartisan forum on the future of Malaysian politics last night, an Umno Youth leader stood apart from the crowd with his views supporting single-stream schools.

Umno Youth exco Shahril Hamdan said he personally believed the formula to achieve unity among races lies in constant engagement with one another from a young age.

"If you ask me personally, I support having single stream schools...," Shahril told audience members during a TN50x session on politics organised by the Umno Overseas Club Alumni at Kompleks Karangkraf in Shah Alam.

He added he is leading an NGO that is championing the single stream school agenda.

TN50x sessions are privately organised offshoots of Putrajaya's ongoing Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) dialogue sessions, which provide a platform for the public to state their aspirations for 2050.

Top of the list of aspirations shared by the panellists and audience members was for Malaysian politics in 2050 to be more mature and to move away from playing up racial rhetoric and sentiments.

While noting that abolishing vernacular education can be a sensitive topic for many Malaysians, Shahril said he chose to respond as the issue was raised by several audience members in the context of moving towards a more united Malaysia by 2050.

"The other panellists (in support of vernacular schools) proposed for more programmes to be conducted between vernacular schools and national schools.

"But having single-stream schools can be a 'short cut' to promoting unity," said Shahril, who was quick to add that those who do not support the idea are not against unity among races.

Also on the panel were PKR deputy youth chief Afif Bahardin, DAP Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim and MIC deputy youth chief R Thinalan who said they disagreed with the view that vernacular schools are a cause of disunity among Malaysians.

Thinalan said Tamil and Chinese vernacular schools will remain a part of Malaysia's future, as proven by the government's commitment to fund its operations.

"What we do not want is for politicians to use it (vernacular schools) as a political tool," said Thinalan, who earlier reiterated his stand against race-based politics.

Sim meanwhile, pointed out that the administration of vernacular schools is still largely under control of the Education Ministry, and therefore should not see any issue of the schools going against a national agenda towards greater unity among Malaysians.

"The issue of unity among races is not the vernacular school issue because (even without them) there can also be private schools or other schools.

"It is the politicians using vernacular schools to fan racial flames who are the problem," he said, echoing Thinalan's view on the matter.

Afif meanwhile, suggested a new subject on unity can be taught at all schools, instead of completely doing away with the vernacular education system.

Many of the audience members called for the abolition of vernacular schools, including one who said Islamic schools should also make way for a single stream national school.

At a press conference later, forum organiser Umno Overseas Club Alumni chairperson Wan Mohamad Hazlin Agil said it was the first time in the history of TN50x that leaders from BN and Pakatan Harapan were gathered to speak on a common platform.

Asked for comments on whether senior Umno leaders would be able to meet the people's aspirations against racial politics, following deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's remarks on former premier Mahathir Mohamad's Indian ancestry recently, Wan Mohamad Hazlin said he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the TN50 secretariat.

"Even though the leaders each have their own ways, we will bring these aspirations so that (whatever undesirable incidents) have happened today will not happen again in the future," he said.