Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid said to do so would amount to reviewing the wisdom of the Cabinet policy decision.

“It takes the view that it is non-justiciable (cannot be argued in court),” Kamal said in his 25-page judgment to dismiss the leave application for judicial review by a parent and two organisations to quash the government’s decision compelling pupils in Chinese and Tamil primary schools to study khat, or Jawi calligraphy.

Kamal had delivered an oral ruling in April.

R Visa Letchumy, former Chinese School Students Association president Tan Kim Sen @ Tan Boon Tak and Persatuan Hindu Agamam Ani Malaysia chairman D Ravi had filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal.

The trio, who filed the application in May last year, said the decision to introduce khat lessons for Year 4 pupils in vernacular schools was made by the Pakatan Harapan government in January 2020.

Following criticism from educational groups, the government later announced that Jawi was optional and would not be an exam subject.

Kamal said the applicants wrongly filed the action to challenge the introduction of khat when it should be a challenge to introduce Jawi writing during Bahasa Melayu lessons.

Further, the judge said, the applicants erroneously named the education ministry as party when it should be the Cabinet.

“The Cabinet is a legal entity and action can be filed against them,” he said.

He also said the applicants filed their leave for judicial review “well outside” the three-month limitation period, which is a rigid rule that must be complied with.

The decision to implement Jawi was made on Aug 14, 2019 and had become a subject of heated debate.

“They should have filed the leave application within three months from Aug 14, 2019. The court is therefore not seized with the jurisdiction to hear the applicants,” he said.

He said the late filing blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s subsequent movement control order was a “non-starter”.

Kamal also said the applicants did not have the legal standing to bring the action as they failed to show how they were adversely affected by the Cabinet’s decision.

For example, he said, Visa Letchumy’s daughter, R Levanaya, was a pupil in a national school in Kuantan, Pahang.

“However, Visa Letchumy was challenging the teaching of khat writing to Year 4 pupils in Chinese and Tamil primary schools.”