QUESTION TIME | Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar opened an old can of worms when he asked at a question-and-answer session whether “anyone in politics dared abolish vernacular schools, even if it was a popular proposition to promote unity in the country”.

In case anyone is wondering why the sports minister is engaging in this dialogue, remember that he was given the task of coming up with TN50, a plan to transform the future of Malaysia during the period 2020-2050.

There are two parts that need to be answered here. First, how possible is it to abolish vernacular schools, and also by extension religious schools, so that there is only a single educational system in the country which is taught in the language the government decides and a curriculum it sets?

Two, is it really desirable at this stage to ban vernacular schools?

Let’s take it in turn. While many seem to be under the impression that vernacular schools are guaranteed under the Federal Constitution, that apparently is untrue.

Constitutional scholar, Shad Saleem Faruqi, in his book ‘Document of Destiny’, says on page 361: “The educational landscape of this country has, since colonial days, been dotted with vernacular schools conducting instruction in Malay, Chinese or Tamil. Some of these schools have very fine reputations indeed. They are open to all races and many Malays and Indians are known to enrol their kids in Chinese vernacular institutions.

“Whether vernacular schools are part of our rich cultural mosaic or a hindrance to national unity are open questions. What is important is that though not provided for in the constitution, they are recognised by the Education Act 1996. The Act in Section 28 allows ‘national type’ schools to exist and to conduct instruction in a language other than Malay. The Act also allows private educational institutions to exist under section 73 and gives them considerable autonomy.”

That means vernacular schools can be abolished by an amendment to the Education Act which requires just a simple majority of the legislature compared to the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution.

In theory, that is easy to do, but it will face considerable opposition not only from Chinese and Tamil educationists but also from Malay groups as Malay and religious schools would have to be closed as well.

Which brings us to the question of whether vernacular schools should be abolished. That will hinge critically on whether they are a hindrance to national unity. Considering that an estimated 90 percent of Chinese in Malaysia send their children to Chinese primary schools, the answer has to be yes.

Malaysia is probably one of the few countries in the world, if not the only, which has four parallel education systems - Malay, Chinese, Tamil and Islamic. The attendance of these schools is divided along almost exclusively racial and religious lines, artificially separating different members of key communities in their formative years.

That results in alienation among young Malaysians against one another and lack of understanding and of embracing wholeheartedly the different cultures, religious practices and way of life of the various communities that can come only from close personal interaction. Without a doubt, vernacular schools hinder national unity...