The Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena) on Tuesday applied for leave to appeal from a Court of Appeal ruling handed down last month.
However, two other groups that were part of the proceedings in the lower courts – Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia (I-Guru) – have opted not to join in.
In a media statement, solicitors Amelda Fuad Abi & Aidil said the applicants have framed five constitutional and two legal questions in a bid to secure leave of the Federal Court to hear the merits of their case.
“Lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla will continue to lead our team of lawyers,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Haniff said unsealed copies of the cause papers have been served on the Attorney-General’s Chambers and 10 other parties involved in the dispute.
Delivering the unanimous verdict of a three-member Court of Appeal panel on Nov 23, Justice Azizul Azmi Adnan said vernacular schools have long been recognised in the legislative framework of the education system since even before Malaya’s independence and the existence of the 1957 constitution.
He said a vernacular school is not a public authority and, as such, the use of a non-Malay medium of instruction for teaching cannot be said to violate the law.
The three-member bench also comprised Justice Supang Lian, who chaired the panel, and Justice M Gunalan.
Mappim, Gapena, Isma and I-Guru had appealed to the Court of Appeal from two separate High Court judgments issued on the same subject matter.
They wanted a declaration that Sections 2, 17 and 28 of the Education Act 1996, which allow for the setting up of vernacular schools and the use of Mandarin and Tamil as their medium of instruction, are inconsistent with Article 152(1) of the Federal Constitution.
They also wanted vernacular schools to be converted into national schools within six years, and for the pupils in these schools to learn Tamil in Year 1 and 2, Mandarin in Year 3 and 4, and Arabic in Year 5 and 6.
However, the Court of Appeal ruled that the existence of these schools and the relevant provisions in the Education Act did not offend any of the fundamental liberty provisions contained in the constitution.
Several interest groups, including the Malaysian Chinese Language Council, the Tamil Language Association, the Confederation of Former Tamil School Pupils, MCA, and the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia, were named interveners in the suits.