MCA, MIC, 12 others allowed to intervene in suit on vernacular schools

Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz (left), his counsel Shaharudin Ali and the rest of his legal team at the Kuala Lumpur High Court previously.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here allowed 14 political parties and organisations to intervene in a lawsuit filed by a lawyer to declare the continued existence of vernacular schools as unconstitutional.

High Court judge Nordin Hassan allowed the applications to intervene after the legal team for Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz said it had no objections for the organisations to be made parties to the lawsuit.

“We don’t have any objection for the intervenors to be made parties in our lawsuit, whether they are siding with us or the government,” said Shaharudin Ali, who appeared for Khairul.

The political parties included are MIC, MCA, Gerakan and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia. The organisations made defendants are Pertubuhan Generasi Baru Melaka, Persatuan Thamizhar Malaysia, Persatuan Tamilar Thurunal (Perak), Persatuan Gabungan Kebajikan Guru-Guru Bersara Sekolah Tamil, Chinese educationist groups Dong Zong and Jiao Zong, Malaysian Chinese Language Council, Persatuan Malaysia Tamil Neri Kalagam, Gabungan Persatuan Bekas Pelajar Sekolah Tamil Malaysia as well as SMJK Chong Hwa.

Nordin fixed May 5 as the hearing date. He also ordered the intervenors to file their affidavits in reply before March 5 and submissions to be filed by April 28.

“I will not make any order to costs,” he said after Shaharudin told the court that some intervenors have sought an order for costs in their applications.

In the lawsuit, Khairul is seeking a declaration that Sections 28 and 17 of the Education Act 1996, which allow the use of Chinese and Tamil languages as the main medium in vernacular schools, are against Article 152 of the Federal Constitution.

His initial application was dismissed by the Federal Court in November last year, and the apex court said that they could not exercise exclusive jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Two other groups, namely Association of Peninsular Malaysia Students (GPMS) and the Islamic Educational Development Council (Mappim), also filed lawsuits to Sections 2, 17 and 28 of the Education Act.

However, Khairul said that his case and the groups’ case are not related. -FMT