'Malaysia falling behind because of refusal to accept a plural society'

 

Malaysia is falling behind other countries of the world because of the refusal by certain groups to accept a plural society, Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang said.

He said this in reference to a landmark court decision that dismissed an attempt to have vernacular schools declared unconstitutional.

High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali ruled yesterday that the use of mother tongue languages by vernacular schools is protected by Article 152(1) of the Federal Constitution.

Lim said in a statement today: "It is unfortunate that there are still people who do not accept Malaysia as a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation.

"Malaysia lost out in the international race in the last half a century, overtaken by one country after another, not because Malaysia is a plural society but because of the refusal to accept that Malaysia is a plural society.

"As embraced by the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukun Negara, Malaysia cannot succeed as a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Dayak country – it can only succeed as a Malaysian nation."

Judge Mohd Nazlan also noted that there are some 1,800 vernacular schools nationwide with about half a million students of different races.

High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali

The legal challenge against vernacular schools was brought by the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS), the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena).

Mohd Nazlan in July 2020 also delivered the landmark decision of sentencing former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to 12 years’ imprisonment and RM210 million fine for abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust.

Lim noted that in his judgment, Mohd Nazlan characterised Najib's case as "the worst kind" while the Court of Appeal reaffirmed the decision, calling Najib's action a "national embarrassment".

The DAP veteran added: "But Najib is not embarrassed and has not given up his hopes to return as the prime minister of Malaysia.

"The 1MDB 'kleptocracy at its worst' scandal is undoubtedly the 'infamy of infamies', and why, as a convicted criminal, Najib opened an international conference on Dec 27? It brought shame and infamy to Malaysia.

"Will Najib renounce his hope to return as the prime minister of Malaysia?"

Najib had officiated the World Chinese Economic Forum, prompting a founder who is no longer associated with the group to call it an "embarrassment".

The organiser had said Najib's conviction had not been a consideration and he was invited due to his commitment to foster relations between Malaysia and China. - Mkini