Newly minted Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal today reiterated that his party wing wants vernacular schools to be phased out.
In a statement today, Wan Fayhsal, who is also the deputy youth and sports minister, said although the Education Act 1996 did not allow the education minister to abolish such schools, the government must take note of the "negative perception" that vernacular schools have purportedly failed to produce students who are nationalistic.
"There are also views that such schools are unconstitutional... It can be observed that many vernacular school graduates are only fluent in their mother tongues," Wan Fayhsal said.
A nationalist must not only embrace the ideology but also the national language, he added.
"If they are to be evaluated, many do not appear to be nationalistic... in the pursuit of achieving national integration."
Wan Fayhsal was referring to Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique's reply in Parliament yesterday to a question on whether she agreed that vernacular schools were an obstacle to unity among races.
Halimah did not provide a straightforward answer and instead stressed that all students must embrace the Rukun Negara to achieve national unity.
Addressing this specifically, Wan Fayhsal said the minister's position was wrong because Malaysian youths must be united through the national language.
"On the Rukun Negara, its core is the supremacy of the (Federal) Constitution. How can (Halimah's statement) bring in the Rukun Negara while ignoring Article 152 of the Federal Constitution?" he asked.
Article 152 (1) states that the Malay language is the national language while Article 152(1)(a) states that no person shall be prohibited or prevented from using or from teaching or learning other languages.
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