PUTRAJAYA – The Court of Appeal’s decision today that the existence of vernacular schools is constitutional will be challenged, said lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, he said some groups are determined to continue with their fight and will file an application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court.
However, he said whether all the same groups that filed the original application will be parties to the appeal remains up for discussion.
“It is confirmed that we will file a motion for leave to appeal. But as to how many parties (will be involved)… that will be decided soon,” said Haniff Khatri, who represented the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena).
Besides Mappim and Gapena, others who filed for the court to declare vernacular schools unconstitutional in 2019 are Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia and Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia.
The high court ruled in December 2021 that vernacular schools are constitutional, and the appellate court today upheld that decision.
Haniff Khatri today said the onus is on the government to make the necessary amendments to education policies, especially on which language should be used as the medium of instruction in schools under its purview.
He said the courts’ jurisdiction is limited to settling disputes brought to them, or on matters involving constitutional questions and questions of law.
“Whereas, the government attends to policy-related matters,” he said.
The lawyer added that non-governmental organisations with interests in this matter can continue to lobby the government to ensure unity across all schools, including vernacular schools, by using one language as the medium of instruction. – November 23, 2023