Vernacular schools should not be abolished: Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia should not abolish the vernacular school system but instead focus on national unity due to racial issues that flared in last month’s general election, Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday.

“The vernacular school system developed since the 1960s and has been accepted as the education policy,” Mr Anwar told a press conference.

The de facto leader of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition alliance also said the Bahasa Malaysia language could be strengthened at these schools, adding that the government should focus on unity and the quality of education instead of abolishing vernacular schools.

Former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdullah had suggested on Wednesday that vernacular schools should be turned into national schools that teach all languages, but reiterated that these schools should not be abolished.

The Federal Constitution allows for vernacular education in Malay, Mandarin and Tamil for primary schools.

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