KOTA BHARU (Feb 17): Pertubuhan Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslim Malaysia (iGuru), through its president Mohd Azizee Hasan, has today successfully asked the High Court here to reinstate the association's suit against the Education Minister and the Malaysian government regarding the existence of vernacular schools.

In a statement, Azizee's lawyer Datuk Shahrudin Ali confirmed the decision made by Justice Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh this morning.

“As a result, the case has now been fixed for further case management on Feb 28, following the Attorney-General's Chambers' application to transfer this Kota Bharu vernacular case to a High Court judge in Kuala Lumpur,” he said, adding the originating summons by the association was initially struck off on Oct 25, 2020.

“This [is] to consolidate all vernacular cases to a specified KL High Court. My client would be opposing such application by the AG's Chambers because we take the position that the Kota Bharu High Court has the jurisdiction and is competent to determine the constitutional issues posed to this court,” Shahrudin said in the statement.

The association had named the Malaysian government and the Education Minister as respondents in the originating summons where it claimed that the existence of vernacular schools is in violation of Article 152 and other provisions in the Federal Constitution that include the national language (Bahasa Malaysia) being the language for all formal matters, including education in schools.

Article 152 concerns the special rights of the Malays.

In another related development, the KL High Court had last week also allowed 14 parties to be interveners in Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) and Majlis Pembangunan Pendidikan Islam Malaysia (MAPPIM) seeking of similar declarations that the existence of vernacular schools is unconstitutional.

GPMS and MAPPIM did not oppose their application to intervene and become defendants. The parties include Gerakan, MCA, MIC, Jiao Zong, Dong Zong, Persatuan Gabungan Guru-Guru Bersara Sekolah Tamil Malaysia and the Putra party.

The KL High Court allowed them to be interveners on Feb 9 and for this reason had fixed March 8 as case management for the matter. According to MAPPIM and GPMS counsel Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla, his clients also agreed to withdraw a recusal application on the judge hearing this case, as the judge had chosen to retire on March 1.