Why Chinese schools in Malaysia have a future, despite opposition from some

Schools teaching in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil exist side-by-side in multicultural Malaysia, but their coexistence is not always harmonious.

There have long been suggestions that a single national school system should be put in place, but the idea is opposed by the communities that would be affected the most by such a move – and so a long-running debate over whether so-called vernacular schools, those teaching in Mandarin and Tamil, have a place in Malaysia shows no sign of abating.

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Research, led by Dr Sivapalan Selvadurai of the National University of Malaysia and reported in 2015, found support for the continuation of vernacular schools among Chinese stemmed from a fear of losing their cultural identity, a lack of representation of their mother tongue in the national schools which teach in English and Malay, and the perception that Chinese schools offer higher quality education.

Those opposed to vernacular schools, on the other hand, argue that they don’t cultivate national identity or foster cross-cultural experiences, and only encourage segregation.

Many advocates of a single school system cite the success of Singapore as an example. The city state abolished vernacular schools in 1987 and made English the main language of instruction, and its education system is widely commended.

The debate over vernacular schools in Malaysia can become deeply emotional. Last year, a headmistress at a Chinese school was accused of failing to defend a Malay teacher who had claimed she was assaulted by one of her student’s parents. The teacher also accused the headmistress of trying to force her to resign on a separate occasion.