With khat now 'optional', Guan Eng hopes M'sians can move on

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng hopes Malaysians can now move forward after Putrajaya decided that the introduction of khat in the Standard 4 Bahasa Malaysia syllabus is optional.

"This decision... will not please everyone, including those from the non-Malay community, who requested that the implementation of introducing khat or Jawi illustrations be deferred pending consultation with all the stakeholders in Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

"However, the cabinet decision yesterday that it is not compulsory but optional and not to be tested in exams would hopefully allow Malaysians to move forward," he said in a statement this evening.

Previously, the Education Ministry announced that the teaching of khat would be made compulsory for all Standard 4 students.

At a press conference earlier, Education Minister Maszlee Malik said teachers would be given the power to decide on how to teach khat.

In his media statement, the minister said: “Pengenalan tulisan khat ini dilaksanakan secara pilihan dengan guru diberikan kuasa untuk membuat keputusan mengenai kaedah pelaksananya di bilik darjah masing-masing. (The introduction of khat would be implemented in an optional manner and teachers would be given the power to decide how to implement it in their respective classrooms).

Although the minister did not clarify the term “optional” when quizzed later, Malaysiakini understands that teachers would be allowed to decide whether or not to teach khat.

Maszlee (above) also said the khat lessons would be cut down to three pages instead of the initial six.

He added that the cabinet decided on the revisions yesterday after considering feedback from various quarters, who protested against the proposal to make khat compulsory.

Meanwhile, Lim explained that the unhappiness was over the perception that the Education Ministry had acted unilaterally without prior consultation with the relevant stakeholders.

"This has led to general suspicion and a trust deficit from the stakeholders in Chinese and Tamil primary schools that there is a hidden agenda by the Education Ministry," he added.

Maszlee has denied allegations that the introduction of khat was an attempt at Islamisation.

The revision came after more than a week of pushback, with pressure being piled on DAP in particular.

While DAP central leaders defended the initial six-page lessons, the party's grassroots denounced the move.

This prompted DAP to summon all its elected representatives to Kuala Lumpur on Monday where secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who is also finance minister, was tasked with resolving the matter.

Lim met with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad twice over the issue within a span of 24 hours.