KOTA KINABALU: Using English in national schools is not unconstitutional, but a right and the way forward, said Sabah deputy chief minister Datuk Seri Madius Tangau.

He said the Education Ministry’s written reply to Batang Sadong MP Nancy Shukri, who asked if Sarawak schools could use English as the medium of instruction, was disappointing and shocking.

The ministry responded by saying that it would violate the Federal Constitution, National Language Act and the Education Act.

This is a lofty, profound, almost sacred way of expressing an aspiration to preserve and honour the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, Madius said in a statement.

He said for Sabah and Sarawak, the right to use English as a medium of instruction in national schools was in accordance with the Malay­sia Agreement 1963 and was in no way illegal nor an attempt to challenge Bahasa Malaysia (Malay), the national language.

He explained that Sabah had never terminated the use of English as its official language as stated in the Cobbold Commission Report IGC (Inter-Governmental Commit­tee) Report and Article 161(3) of the Constitution during the formation of Malaysia.

The IGC Report paragraph 17 (a) states that although Education (item 13 (a) of the Federal List in the Ninth Schedule) will be a federal subject, the present policy and system of administration of education in North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak (including their present Ordinances) should be undisturbed and remain under the control of the Government of the State until that government otherwise agrees in particular, the present policy in the Borneo States regarding the use of English should continue, he said.

Madius said the National Language Act which states that Bahasa Malaysia is the official language on the other hand, had not come into force in East Malaysia because an enactment/ordinance had to be passed in the State Legislature.