Education Minister Maszlee Malik announced that school students would have to wear black instead of white school shoes starting next year.

Speaking during a Sinar Harian forum in Shah Alam, he said the change was requested by parents.

"Parents have requested for their children (students) not to wear white shoes. We agreed, so beginning from next year, we will use black shoes for students.

"No more white shoes," he added.

The minister did not elaborate on why the parents were opposed to white shoes.

Maszlee also said that the ministry was also committed to reducing the weight of school bags but did not outline any specific steps.

“They will not need to carry heavy bags any more,” he said of the problem that has perennially plagued schoolchildren to the extent that some have even tipped over backwards.

Multilingual ability in five years

Meanwhile, the minister said he also wanted Malaysian students to master more than three languages in the next five years.

He also reiterated his aim to raise the status of Bahasa Melayu and the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP).

“The DBP will be seen to be on the same level as the British Council and will serve to improve the national language,” he said.