Omission of Chinese, Tamil languages worry student bodies

PETALING JAYA: The Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) and five other student bodies have expressed concerned that the Chinese and Tamil language subjects at Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level will not be included in the merit system for pre-university entrance next year.
They cited an article in Sin Chew Daily on May 1 which stated that from next year, both languages will not be listed in the pre-university merit system while other languages such as Arabic, Iban and Kadazan Dusun will be maintained.
In a joint statement today, they urged the government to be fair in their treatment of the two languages which have the same standing as the other languages as mentioned in the Federal Constitution’s Article 152’s on National Languages and Other Languages.
They pointed out that if the two languages were not listed in the merit system, the spirit and desire to learn the mother tongues will be severely affected, and urged the authorities to rectify this “mistake” immediately.
The other student bodies included the Universiti Malaya Students’ Association and Universiti Malaya Chinese Language Students’ Association.