PUTRAJAYA: Bahasa Melayu and History subjects across all education streams will be benchmarked against Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) standards.
This will require Malaysian students in international and religious schools, as well as those sitting for the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), to meet and pass SPM requirements for both subjects.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Bahasa Melayu ought to be upheld as a lingua franca, which demands that the language be made mandatory as a curriculum up to SPM level.
“Whether in international schools, even Malaysian students will not be exempted from taking the Bahasa Melayu-SPM level subject as well as Malaysian History.
“This includes students from religious schools and the UEC.
“With this, their pathway to higher education will no longer be a controversy,” he said at the launch of the National Educational Development Plan 2026-2035 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here today.
Also present were deputy prime ministers Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir.
Anwar said His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had yesterday decreed at Parliament on the position of Bahasa Melayu as the national language. Anwar said a majority of the people, regardless of creed, would agree that it should be heeded.
He also said while the English language should be given equal emphasis, the Education Ministry should provide the opportunity to students wanting to learn Mandarin, Tamil, or Arabic.
“I hope this will end the language polemic,” he said.
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