'Bangladeshis speak better BM' - Bersatu Youth wants vernacular schools abolished

Bersatu Youth has doubled down on its position for vernacular schools to be abolished in phases.

Bersatu Youth information chief Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir said this after Bukti Mertajam MP Steven Sim questioned in the Dewan Rakyat if Deputy National Unity Minister Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal still stood by his previous position to abolish vernacular schools.

This prompted Wan Fayshal to stress that he had only sought for the Malay language to be strengthened in vernacular schools, maintaining that he was only speaking in his capacity as the Bersatu Youth chief.

Taking aim at Sim, Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim said Sim's party DAP has been a "thorn in the side" that had impeded national integration.

Ashraf (above) questioned if Sim has not realised the number of non-Malay students in vernacular schools who cannot speak the national language.

"This is the reality. They are born in Malaysia, they live in this country and make it their home but fail to speak the national language.

"Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, and Nepalese who only stay in the country for a few months can speak better (Malay).

"After a couple of years, the grammar of these non-citizens is even better and without an accent (pelat), beating out those Malaysians with blue MyKads - wake up!" he said in a statement.

Ashraf said Bersatu Youth acknowledged the need to command a second or third language apart from the national language such as English, Chinese, and Tamil.

However, he stressed that they must be done under one roof and not under a fragmented system.

He claimed the syllabus in vernacular schools deviates from Malaysian history and has failed to uphold the national language.

"Therefore, Bersatu Youth maintains its position that vernacular schools should be abolished in phases..." he said. - Mkini