YOURSAY | ‘Why didn’t Khairul act against vernacular schools during BN’s six-decade rule?’

Lawyer files motion claiming vernacular schools contravene Federal Constitution

Anonymous 24331438100949: Vernacular schools have been established in Malaysia for many generations now.

Yet, it is only now that lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz files a motion challenging the existence of vernacular schools in Malaysia.

If he was really sincere in adhering to the Federal Constitution, Khairul should have taken the action during BN’s rule for more than six decades.

Why did he wait until now to take action, just a year after the Pakatan Harapan government had come into power?

Khairul’s argument that the Budget 2020 allocation of RM127 million to vernacular schools prompted him to take action does not hold water as the BN had similarly been providing allocations to these schools all these while before being toppled in 2018.

Adi Purusa: "As taxpayers, we have the right to make sure the government spends money on the people, in accordance with the constitution and law,” said Khairul.

But then, what was he doing when the country was being plundered left, right and centre during the previous administration.

Kangkuong: Indeed, Khairul’s comments would have been taken seriously if only cases of misuse of public funds involving Felda, Tabung Haji, and other organisations set up to help improve the lives of poor Malays didn’t occur.

What guarantee is there that the funds saved from the vernacular schools’ allocation do not end up enriching just a handful of politicians or leaders?

Big Data: Going by Khairul's argument, he should have the moral responsibility of stopping the use of non-Malay taxpayers’ funds in 100 percent Malay institutions like Mara and others.

Furthermore, he is implicating that Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman was wrong regarding the operation of vernacular schools.

This lawyer’s action was purely for political reasons, and will not help the ailing economy, education or unity.

Quigonbond: Should the minorities in the country start filing motions in court against the former BN government ministers and MPs for using the taxpayers' money collected from them to fund Islamic and purely bumiputera matters because according to Khairul, the tax he pays should only be used on matters that are beneficial to him.

As far as most of the people are concerned, tax should be race and religion-neutral. The tax collected by the authorities includes those from non-halal certified company profits.

My2cen: Since Khairul admitted that he filed the motion in court because of his objection to public funds allocated to vernacular schools, there is a solution for this matter.

The funds for sectors or projects benefiting the non-Muslims, such as vernacular schools, should come purely from the revenue generated by taxing non-Muslims, especially non-halal activities (such as tax from gaming/gambling, alcohol, etc).

Then, people like Khairul will not feel aggrieved and it will not hinder the development of non-Muslims.

Leon Moch: I am not sure if Khairul can beat the stringent locus standi rule in Malaysian courts.

If I recall correctly, in the case of Lim Kit Siang v UEM, the veteran DAP politician tried to bring a public interest litigation suit in his capacity as the opposition leader, MP, taxpayer, etc, but failed to proceed with the suit because as the plaintiff, he was required by the court to show that he, above other persons, had been specifically injured or suffered a loss because of the defendant.

Anonymous 3b6c1f0c: Khairul obviously did not read all the relevant provisions of the Federal Constitution. The provisions of Article 152 do not make it illegal for the establishment of vernacular schools.

It provides to the contrary and states that while the national language shall be the Malay language, no person shall be prohibited or prevented from using or from teaching or learning, any other language; and nothing in Article 152 shall prejudice the right of the federal government or of any state government to preserve and sustain the use and study of the language of any other community in the Federation.

It is a basic instruction to all law students not to read any provision of law in isolation from any other related provision. And so, Articles 8 and 12 are also relevant to the interpretation of Article 152.

Article 8 provides that all citizens are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. A citizen is entitled to learn in his or her mother tongue.

Article 12 which deals with education rights provides that there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, descent or place of birth in the administration of any educational institution maintained by a public authority; or in providing funds of a public authority and financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (whether or not maintained by a public authority).

So, the government has the right to allocate public funds including taxpayers’ money towards the establishment and maintenance of vernacular schools. It is a right under the Federal Constitution.

It is high time that learning and understanding of the Federal Constitution be made the subject of learning in secondary schools rather than Moral Studies so that we have citizens who know what the social contract is when they speak about it.

This will remove a critical area of social cohesion and relationship from being the sole purview of racists and people with anarchist tendencies in our country.

A more aware and educated citizenry will never be led astray by such as these. There are just too many purveyors of falsehoods gaining, and being given, prominence and worst still, being entertained by those in power.

JD Lovrenciear: Language is the root of civilisation. Learning and communicating in any chosen, preferred or one's own culturally-imbued language is an inherent right that no human can deny another of it.

Tamil and Chinese languages cannot be stymied using law and legal arguments. To do so is tantamount to an affront on civilisation.

To argue that vernacular languages are divisive, anti-nationalist or an enemy to the chosen national language only goes to show our shallow appreciation of languages.

SSMM: Non-Chinese students comprised 18 percent of Chinese-language primary schools in 2016, according to Education Ministry statistics, or almost one in five students.

Compared to the more than 90 percent of Malay students in national-type schools, it looks like Chinese schools are actually more racially diverse these days.

Anon Two: I guess Khairul wants all the schools in the country to be of the same quality as the current national-type schools.

Yoursay: The message is minorities should know their place and shut up

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