It is not surprising that former court of appeal judge, Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah in a conversation with UMNO mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia on 15th July 2015, claimed that a single stream education system builds unity and is the way forward in Malaysia, linking it to the recent Low Yat plaza theft fracas that spiralled to a racial monster. This is also not the first time that he has called for the abolishment of vernacular schools in the country citing reasons that it is divisive and unconstitutional.
It is an utter shame and disgrace that a bigot masked by a prestigious title like ‘former appeals court judge’ who has been given airspace time and time again, namely in a YouTube video on 12 May 2013 claiming that “the betrayal of the Chinese towards the bond of friendship of the Malays, that is the truth; as they plot to grab political power after expropriating economic power” (“pengkhianatan orang Cina terhadap ikatan setiakawan orang Melayu, itu adalah benar; kerana mereka rancang untuk merampas kuasa politik setelah membolot kuasa ekonomi”) has again taken the moral high ground to comment and question the existence of vernacular schools in the country and on the education system in the country. In that same teleconversation, he also appealed that he be given the opportunity to make a media statement on the constitution and the education system in Malaysia.
Deviously and shrewdly disguised as a man to administer justice, he makes nefarious statements pitting races in Malaysia against one another all in the good name of upholding the constitution, and most recently that vernacular schools are unconstitutional. Baffling indeed coming from a ‘learned’ man, that it does not say in the Federal Constitution that vernacular schools are unconstitutional and that single stream schools are constitutional.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as premier, as the founder of the Global Moderate Movement, as the man behind 1Malaysia, has yet to react on the comment(s) made in the past and most recently on polarisation of ethnicities in Malaysia by a former appeals court judge, let alone warn his party mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia not to feature this man in their publications.
Instead, it was Prof Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, a social anthropologist lecturer from UKM who had the nerve to critique Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah that his suggestion for a single stream education system clearly shows that the former judge does not understand the history of the country and that vernacular schools have been a symbol of our heritage.
Perhaps he should shrug off the racial deadweight pulling him and wake up to reality that children whose primary language (mother tongue) is not the language of instruction in school are more likely to drop out of school or fail in early grades (UNESCO 2008). In a Parliamentary reply from the Ministry of Education dated 23rd March 2015, the ministry has carried out a proses to standardize the implementation of the Bahasa Malaysia Language Curriculum for Primary Schools (KSSR) for Standard 4 students to bridge the gap in the command of Bahasa Malaysia for students from Tamil and Chinese schools as well as the MBMMBI aimed to uphold Bahasa Malaysia and to strengthen the English language. The ball is also in the court of the MOE to ensure that students from vernacular schools are also well equipped in their command of Bahasa Malaysia and English.
In October 2014 at the officiation of the 61st MCA annual general meeting, the Prime Minister assured that the government will continue to uphold the right to mother tongue education after an UMNO division leader proposed a discussion to abolish Chinese-medium schools.
It appears that the PM only makes re-assuring statements at BN component party events and bashes.
It was birdbrained of the PM to assure MCA on the position of vernacular schools, as the existence of vernacular schools is protected under Article 12 as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. He should have instead ticked-off his UMNO henchman on that factious remark.
One would have expected the Prime Minister to take the same stand now to negate Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah on the abolition of vernacular schools but Malaysians are faced with a brickwall of a Prime Minister.
Perhaps Mr Prime Minister, as the advocate for transformation, you should take a firm position on the idea put forward by the former appeals court judge on vernacular schools and after that, attempt a minor recovery from the scandalous 1MDB saga by demanding for MCMC to unblock the Sarawak Report website for their flimsy reason of maintaining ‘national stability’ and that it had violated national laws with its recent exposé on the multi pronged involvement of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak
With absolute power that the Prime Minister is bestowed with, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak must step up, come forward and send a clear and strong message to the likes of former court of appeals judge Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah on the position of vernacular schools in the country as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.