The government has made it mandatory for all education streams in Malaysia, including international schools, religious institutions and Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) schools, to include Bahasa Melayu and History as core subjects under the national curriculum.
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the policy reflects the constitutional status of Bahasa Melayu as the national language and emphasised that mastery of the language must go beyond basic proficiency.
“Bahasa Melayu is not merely a subject to be learned. It must be strengthened as the lingua franca and as the main language of knowledge,” he said in his speech at the launch of the National Education Blueprint (RPN) 2026–2035 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) today.
Anwar stressed that the curriculum for Bahasa Melayu at both school and university levels would be enhanced in line with current needs, including through standardisation and improvement of teaching quality.
“When we talk about standardisation, it means ensuring consistency and raising the overall quality of language mastery,” he added.
The Prime Minister reiterated that all education systems in the country are required to make Bahasa Melayu a compulsory core subject up to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level, without exception.
He also announced that Malaysian students enrolled in international schools must sit for examinations in Bahasa Melayu and Malaysian History.
According to Anwar, religious schools and tahfiz institutions involving more than 400,000 students will also be subject to the same requirement, particularly those receiving government assistance.
“They are free to maintain their existing religious curriculum and teaching methods. We will not interfere with that, but Bahasa Melayu and Malaysian History must be compulsory,” he said.
Touching on the long-standing issue surrounding UEC, Anwar explained that the new policy would effectively end disputes over university admission pathways for UEC holders.
“With this requirement in place, their access to higher education will no longer be controversial. We welcome them as long as these conditions are fulfilled,” he said.
At the same time, Anwar highlighted the need to strengthen English language proficiency as the country’s second language to ensure Malaysia remains competitive internationally.
He noted that strong command of English is crucial in areas such as trade, digital transformation, energy transition and artificial intelligence.
In addition, the Prime Minister said the Ministry of Education must provide teachers for optional languages such as Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic in national schools.
“Students who wish to master Mandarin, Tamil or Arabic must be given that opportunity. These options must be made available in schools,” he added.
Anwar expressed confidence that the language policy under the RPN 2026–2035 would bring an end to prolonged debates over language issues and help build a more cohesive national education system.
-EDUCATION TVET ASIA