BM, History Now Compulsory Subjects At International, Religious, UEC Schools - PM Anwar

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- All schools nationwide, including international schools, religious schools and those following the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) stream, will be required to offer Bahasa Melayu and History as compulsory subjects in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

He said the new requirement will align all education systems under a single national framework and put an end to long-standing confusion and debate over equal access to higher education pathways.

“The situation has changed. The vast majority of UEC and international school students already sit for the SPM examination. Under this policy, Bahasa Melayu and History will be made compulsory for international schools, religious schools and all Chinese or UEC-stream schools.

“With this approach, their pathway to higher education should no longer be controversial,” he said at the launch of the National Education Blueprint (RPN) 2026-2035 here today.

Also present were Deputy Prime Ministers Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, as well as Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar was in attendance.

Anwar said the policy also applies to community-based religious schools and tahfiz institutions, which now enrol more than 400,000 students nationwide.

“They may retain their religious curriculum; we will not interfere with that. But as a condition for receiving government assistance, they must also offer Bahasa Melayu and History,” he said.

Citing remarks by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, at the opening of Parliament session yesterday, Anwar said the government remains committed to upholding Bahasa Melayu as the national language, a language of knowledge and the country’s lingua franca.

“Mastery of Bahasa Melayu must go beyond basic proficiency. It must be strengthened through school and university curricula in line with the demands of the times,” he said.

At the same time, Anwar stressed that English proficiency must be raised and taught to a higher standard, given Malaysia’s role as a trading nation dependent on global engagement.

“English must be given greater priority as a second language. Teaching standards and quality must improve,” he said, adding that English is critical in areas such as digital transformation, energy transition, artificial intelligence and future-oriented fields.

Anwar also directed the Education Ministry to ensure sufficient teachers for major languages - Bahasa Melayu, English and elective languages such as Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic - to meet students’ needs in national schools.

“We hope this policy will finally resolve the endless language controversy. I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, when language disputes were intense. With this 2026 policy, God willing, we will put an end to it,” he said.

-- BERNAMA