Teachers would be given the option to decide whether to teach khat (Jawi calligraphy) which has been included in the Bahasa Malaysia syllabus for Standard 4 pupils starting next year.
Following objections from various quarters, including Chinese and Tamil education groups, Education Minister Maszlee Malik said the cabinet also decided that the lessons would be reduced to three pages instead of the initial six.
"The cabinet decided that the introduction of khat will be optional with teachers given the power to decide on its implementation in their respective classrooms," he told a press conference in Putrajaya this afternoon.
Previously, the ministry announced that the teaching of khat would be made compulsory, igniting concerns it was aimed at establishing Islamisation in vernacular schools, which Maszlee denied.
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The revision came after more than a week of pushback, with pressure being piled on DAP in particular.
While DAP central leaders defended the initial six-page lessons, the party's grassroots denounced the move.
This prompted DAP to summon all its elected representatives to Kuala Lumpur on Monday where secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also finance minister, was tasked with resolving the matter.
Lim met with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad twice over the issue within a span of 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Maszlee said the cabinet decided on the revisions yesterday after considering feedback from various quarters.
"The cabinet also has a consensus that the introduction of khat will not be evaluated in tests or exams.
"The Education Ministry hopes that with the decision by the cabinet, the introduction of khat will no longer be raised in an inaccurate manner which causes public confusion," he added.- Mkini
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