After KL, High Court in Kelantan rules vernacular schools are constitutional

 

The High Court in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, yesterday dismissed a lawsuit by Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslimin Malaysia (I-Guru) seeking to declare vernacular schools unconstitutional in Malaysia.

Lawyer T Gunaseelan, who represented three of the eight defendants in this case, said the judge had cited the historical context behind Article 152 of the Federal Constitution in ruling that vernacular schools are constitutional.

“Essentially, the challenge was that Article 152 (which deals with the national language) renders certain provisions of the Education Act unconstitutional.

“The plaintiff’s argument was that vernacular schools are unconstitutional because they are public authorities and therefore must only use the national language.

“The High Court judge today said vernacular schools are public authorities. Nevertheless, he said it is constitutional because, looking at the history behind Article 152, it guarantees the use of the mother tongue,” Gunaseelan told Malaysiakini when contacted yesterday.

He said they have also been informed that the plaintiff, I-Guru president Mohd Azizee Hasan, intends to file an appeal against this decision.

Azizee had initially named only the Education Ministry and the government of Malaysia in the suit, but five other parties have since intervened, bringing the total number of defendants to eight.

Gunaseelan is representing Malaysian Chinese Language Council, Malaysia Tamil Neri Kalagam and Gabungan Persatuan Pelajar Tamil Malaysia.

A similar case in KL

This case in Kota Bharu is very similar to another case which had been filed in Kuala Lumpur, he explained, but that lawsuit was initiated by different parties.

Just like the case today, the lawsuit had been dismissed by a judge in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur in December last year. That case is now pending appeal at the Court of Appeal.

“The High Court in Kuala Lumpur threw out the other case, saying that the vernacular schools are not public authorities, and also went on to say that even if you were to interpret Article 152 using a historical perspective, the vernacular schools were there long before the Federal Constitution.

“And therefore, the Federal Constitution actually recognises vernacular schools and guarantees the use of mother tongue,” Gunaseelan said. - Mkini