KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — The single-stream school system would be an ideal way to foster racial integration but any plan to implement it must have the consensus of all stakeholders, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.
The subject, a sensitive issue in multiracial Malaysia, was a hot topic for debate in the third Youth Parliament sitting today.
During the session, a delegate from Malacca had called on Putrajaya to look into replacing vernacular education with a single-school system for better integration but Khairy in his wrap-up of the debate said the idea would not be possible without the agreement of the various communities.
“I understand why this proposal was tabled but this idea will definitely become something sensitive.
“The intention of it is to foster greater unity but the subject will have to be discussed further at a higher level... the Cabinet or the Ministry of Education,” Khairy said in his winding-up speech.
Speaking to the press later, the minister said he personally supports the single-stream school system.
“Everyone can learn using the national language. But any changes must have the agreement of all,” he said.
The anti-vernacular education issue again resurfaced recently after participants of a pro-Malay rally held on September 16 demanded the government abolish Chinese and Tamil schools, which they claimed to be “racist”.
To date, leaders of the Chinese component of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, MCA, have voiced their protest against the message, noting that vernacular education is a right enshrined in the Constitution and that any attempt to abolish the system was illegal.
Khairy said today in an “ideal” world, it would be better to have the different communities integrate early in a single-stream school, but noted that the idea was impossible at the moment.
MALAY MAIL ONLINE
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