Deputy Education Minister Muslimin Yahaya said his ministry would continue with the decision made by the previous PH government in August 2019 to have Jawi taught in vernacular schools.

“This was a decision made by the Cabinet then and we at the education ministry, at policy level, will abide by the decision,” he said.

He further said Jawi lessons should not be seen in a negative light as it was merely to recognise words such as those seen on the Malaysian currency notes.

The process started this year for pupils in Primary 2 to 4, aimed at recognising Jawi writing, Muslimin told Sabri Azit (PAS-Jerai), who asked if the move to have three pages of Jawi as part of the Bahasa Malaysia curriculum will be retained in 2021.

Muslimin also said the Jawi writing was an art and the ministry wanted the people to enrich their culture and the knowledge of the calligraphy.

In August 2019, an interfaith group challenged the education ministry move to have Malay-Arabic calligraphy or khat as part of Malaysia’s identity, saying there was no historical backing for this claim.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) also said the national identity was forged by the Malay language, not the Jawi script. It said Jawi had not been in the mainstream even for the Malays for the last 50 years at least.

“Khat is Arabic calligraphy and has never been part of Malaysia’s identity. It is an Islamic identity,” it added.