KUALA LUMPUR: Hopes are being pinned on new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to influence, implore and convince non-Malays other races to agree to a single stream education system.
Majlis Perundingan Melayu (MPM) education bureau chairman Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Ibrahim Abu Shah said only the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman can persuade non-Malays and other races to resolve this issue once and for all.
He said the single stream education system is not only meant just for Malays, in fact it is also for the benefit of all other races.
Ibrahim said the demand and struggle of non-Malays in relation to the education system currently is at odds with the federal constitution.
"At present, the new prime minister has been appointed because of the strong support and acceptance, especially from the Chinese community. And for sure with his drive and will as well as tenacity, he can convince the Chinese community.
"(Asking them) to accept what is essentially the foundation of the federal constitution, what they are doing can be said to be 100 per cent goes against the federal Constitution," he claimed.
Ibrahim said this in a press conference at Wisma MPM here today.
In a related development, he said MPM will present a memorandum containing 62 suggestions with the theme of "Building a Prosperous Nation" (Membina Negara Makmur) to the new unity government.
The memorandum was prepared by the MPM secretariat with the cooperation and input contribution from 12 Bureaus, which are part of the Pemandu Committee.
The Pemandu committee was set up in September last year, involving 10 representatives from the government and the opposition and was in effect throughout the period of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on transformation and political stability under the leadership of then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
With the agenda of the country's prosperity being the principal claim of the memorandum, MPM implored the government to place more emphasis on the development agenda.