Respect the court’s decision, says Saifuddin Nasution

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Court has decided that the vernacular schools are constitutional and everyone should respect that decision and move on.

Anyone who wants to continue disputing the issue should only do so through proper channels, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

“Whenever a court makes a decision, we should respect it. If there is any further dispute, then that is what the courts are for,” he said at the Dewan Rakyat.

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Saifuddin Nasution was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) who asked the minister about the government’s stance on the issue.

“What is the stance of the Home Ministry following the Federal Court’s recent decision to allow the existence of the vernacular schools because it has gone through the judicial process?” asked Dr Wee.

“It was heard at the High Court, at the Court of Appeal, and decided conclusively by the Federal Court; this means their (vernacular schools) existence is guaranteed.

“Shouldn’t we accept this as a reality based on the country’s social contract?” he added.

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Although the Federal Court ruled on Feb 20 that vernacular schools were constitutional and dismissed the appeal of two NGOs, there are some who continue to harp on the issue.

The most recent was Umno Youth leader Dr Muhammad Akmal Saleh, who asked for a reassessment of the vernacular education system, claiming it was among the reasons for the lack of unity among the population.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin Nasution revealed that investigation papers had been opened against historian Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong, who had also made controversial remarks that Chinese vernacular schools hindered national unity.

“The investigation will be under Section 505 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” he said.

In a TikTok video posted on Feb 29, Teo suggested that Chinese vernacular schools propagated racism, which led to generations of local Chinese developing negative perceptions of the Malay and Indian communities.

The video, which was shared by local portal The Merdeka Times, has since drawn the ire of many, with Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) calling it “racist hate speech” in the Dewan Rakyat.