In a statement, Mohamed Khaled Nordin wondered how effective such lessons would be in view of such restrictions.

“And teachers have the option to not teach it. It will remain in the textbook merely as one of the titles and just an accessory and a political compromise,” he said.

The former higher education minister also questioned the apparent compromise by Chinese educationists over the teaching of khat calligraphy and wondered if it meant that Putrajaya will accede to their demands, including the push to have the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) recognised.

UEC currently receives limited recognition as an entry qualification in Sarawak, Selangor and Penang but remains unrecognised at the national level as a requirement for tertiary education and public service applications.

Khaled said he found it surprising that the Chinese educationists had seemingly reached a compromise over khat calligraphy following an explanation by the education ministry.

He said the Chinese educationists were adamant in opposing any elements of national education into vernacular schools.

“Maybe this represents the best chance to make a concession. Khat will be included (as part of the Bahasa Melayu syllabus for Year 4 pupils in vernacular schools), but the government must compromise on other issues, like full recognition of the UEC,” he said.

He said the push for khat to be taught in schools was not in line with Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s stance as the prime minister was never an advocate of language.

“He is not confident that Bahasa Malaysia is the language of knowledge, which is why he is pushing for science and maths to be taught in English,” he said.

The debate on Jawi and khat was sparked after the education ministry said it would introduce lessons on khat as part of the Bahasa Melayu syllabus for Year 4 pupils in vernacular schools.

Following protests from Chinese and Indian educationists, Education Minister Maszlee Malik said yesterday the teaching of khat would only be an “activity” and not a subject by itself.