PKR vice-president Tian Chua has called for calm amid continued tension over the introduction of the Jawi script as an optional element for Bahasa Malaysia studies in vernacular schools.

In a Chinese language statement today, Chua (photo) lauded Dong Zong's decision to abide by court order, barring the association from holding a congress to discuss the Jawi issue tomorrow.

He said Dong Zong and other NGOs can still discuss the Jawi matter through other means such as dialogues and discussions.

Chua said concerns over the Jawi issue were understandable but stressed that learning the Arabic-based Malay script would not jeopardise centuries of Chinese or Tamil culture.

"Allowing children to learn basic Jawi characters and khat caligraphy definitely won’t affect 5,000 years old of Chinese culture, and 2,000 years of Tamil history.

"The multicultural aspect and co-existence of different streams of education has existed for many years in our country, and it will only become further enriched.

"The learning of many languages will not threaten the development of mother tongue education," he said.

At present, the Education Ministry's policy is that this section is optional for vernacular schools, subject to approval from parents and parent-teacher associations.

It will appear in three pages of the Year 4 Bahasa Malaysia textbook for 2020.

Dong Zong, however, wants vernacular school boards to decide on the Jawi matter, while the Seni Khat Action Team (Sekat) wants the inclusion to be reviewed completely.