KUALA LUMPUR — Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Ibrahim has suggested the abolition of vernacular schools in the state and replaced with a single-stream system he dubbed the “Bangsa Johor” (Johorean concept) schools.

He said the presence of Chinese and Indian vernacular schools in Malaysia’s national education system has failed to realise the 1Malaysia national unity concept launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
“I hope in the near future, no matter this year, next year or the future, the Johor government itself will provide education modules for Johor sons,” Mr Ismail said in a video from a dialogue session, posted on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page on Monday (Sept 5).

“You have Indian schools, you have Chinese schools, you have Malay schools. From small, you have taught them against uniting. Do you expect them to unite when they grow older? 

“In the future, there will be no more Indian, Chinese, Malay schools in Johor.” 

The Johor prince said the “Bangsa Johor” schools will teach children in the state to unite and respect each others’ religions and ethnicities. Despite that, Mr Ismail said religious schools in Johor will not be abolished.

Last month, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said promoting affinity to individual states over the country will divide Malaysians, in response to the “Bangsa Johor” notion previously raised by Mr Ismail. 

In response, Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar had warned those who are ill-informed of the concept to not speak about it with authority, after cautioning Dr Mahathir to keep his nose out of matters related to his state.

The Sultan had also said the “Bangsa Johor” concept was initiated by his great-grandfather and namesake Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur Abu Bakar in 1920 as a clarion call to unite the diverse races in the state under one flag. 

Mr Ismail had on several occasions suggested that his state was entitled to leave Malaysia if it was unhappy with the federal government, most recently in June.

He had then challenged detractors to seek his state’s expulsion from the country if they were unhappy with how it was being governed. MALAY MAIL ONLINE