He said it should also not be part of the Bahasa Melayu subject syllabus.

“The state Cabinet, in a meeting recently, decided that Jawi should be an optional subject and not included in the Bahasa Melayu syllabus.

“The lessons should be provided only if the students decide to learn them,” he told reporters after attending a Christmas open house here today.

Benedick said he was aware there had been many changes made by the education ministry on the Jawi lessons and will have no problems in making it an optional subject.

Asked whether there was a fear of Islamisation among parents if their children learnt Jawi, he said the education ministry should listen to the views of all stakeholders so that it could come out with a win-win solution for all.

In August, Education Minister Maszlee Malik said Jawi will be introduced as an optional lesson in the Bahasa Melayu syllabus for Year Four pupils next year, following objections to make it a compulsory part of the syllabus.

The introduction of Jawi would be in three pages of the Bahasa Melayu textbook, instead of six pages as announced earlier.

Maszlee maintained that this was aimed at introducing Malay heritage to students.