MIC president S Vigneswaran has questioned if the Pakatan Harapan government has the courage to introduce Tamil as a compulsory subject in all schools, natiowide.

"The Education Ministry is taking various steps to have Jawi in schools. Following backlash to the plan, it has said that the initiative (to implement Jawi in schools) was BN's, and not their own.

"My question is, if indeed the plan was that of the previous government, does Pakatan Harapan, as the current federal government, not have the power to cancel its implementation," he said during his speech at the party's general assembly recently.

According to him, MIC will accept if the ministry has decided to implement Jawi in schools, but it should, in the same spirit, mull making Tamil a compulsory subject for Indian students in all schools nationwide.

"Does the Education Ministry have the courage to make Tamil a compulsory subjects in all national schools, Chinese schools and also secondary schools, where Indian students study, nationwide?

"It is our wish to see Tamil being taught to all Indian students," he said.

The implementation of khat, or Jawi calligraphy lessons as part of the Standard Four Bahasa Malaysia syllabus has elicited backlash from various quarters.

The Education Ministry has since announced that the lesson will only be taught with the prior approval of parent-teacher associations, parents and pupils.

Teachers will also be given the option on how to teach the subject, and it will not be testable.

Source: Malaysia Nanban
Photo source: Astro Awani