Earlier, a picture showing the page of the text book which claimed that Tamil had borrowed words from other languages was shared online.

In a statement issued today, Kamalanathan said he had contacted various authorities including Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), the Malaysian Examinations Council, and the Education Ministry’s Text Book Division to verify the origin of the book in question and found that it was published by a private company.

“Checks revealed that the book in question was published by a private company and has nothing to do with the Education Ministry,” he said.

He added that he had contacted the Home Ministry and that he was informed the book’s publisher could be charged under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 if it was found that the book contained false information.

“My office has contacted the publisher to get their response on the book in question.”

Kamalanathan said Tamil was acknowledged as one of the oldest languages in the world.

The book, titled ‘Ace Ahead Teks STPM Bahasa Melayu Penggal 1’, contains a paragraph that reads: “Peminjaman kosa kata Tamil tidak begitu menonjol dalam bahasa Melayu. Hal ini disebabkan bahasa Tamil merupakan pinjaman daripada bahasa-bahasa lain seperti Yunani, Portugis, Inggeris dan bahasa-bahasa Timur.”

“The borrowing of Tamil words is not that prominent in the Malay language. This is because the Tamil language borrowed from other languages such as Greek, Portuguese, English and Eastern languages.”

The book is said to have been published by Oxford Fajar.