Samy Vellu Wants PM To Intervene In Resolving SPM Stalemate

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu Thursday appealed to the prime minister to intervene in resolving the "impasse" over the Indian community's request to allow Indian students to take a maximum of 12 SPM subjects instead of 10.

He said the time had come for Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to intervene to ensure that Indian students were allowed to take the two additional subjects, namely Tamil Language and Tamil Literature, along with the 10 other subjects in the Sijil Pelarajan Malaysia examination.

"I fear that this issue will lead to more problems and a backlash to the Barisan Nasional (government) from the Indian community,' he said in a statement here.

The Education Ministry announced last June that students would be allowed a maximum of 10 subjects in the SPM from next year.

The move caused an uproar among the MIC and the Indian community as it would exclude students from taking the Tamil Language and Tamil Literature subjects although they could drop one of the 10 subjects to take up either one.

"Students can drop the Moral subject and take up one of the two Tamil subjects but the Education Ministry has stressed that Moral is an important subject.

"So, what do we do? The only way out is to allow the students to take 12 subjects," Samy Vellu said, adding that Tamil was a "life and death" matter for the Indians.

He said he had instructed the MIC's sole member in the Cabinet, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr. S.Subramaniam, to resolve the issue with the Education Ministry and to bring it up in the Cabinet.

He said the Indian community had voiced its displeasure over the Education Ministry's decision that there would be no change in its ruling on 10 SPM subjects and many Indian non-governmental organisations hade sought the MIC's help.