Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam said he would request the Cabinet to again allow Indian students to take a maximum of 12 SPM subjects.

"I will also continue to hold talks with deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin (on this)," said the MIC vice-president after meeting with 20 Indian NGOs today.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, announced last June that students would be allowed a maximum of 10 subjects in the SPM from next year.

dr s subramaniam interview 210308 01 Subramaniam said the MIC wanted the education ministry to allow Indian students to take the Tamil Language and Tamil Literature subjects, along with the 10 subjects as decided by the ministry.

He said he had been asking for a review of the ruling at Cabinet meetings for the past three to four months, and would continue to engage in consultations with the education ministry until a reasonable solution was found.

He said his priority now was to work out a solution that would

ensure Indian students took 12, instead of 10 subjects.

"We are working towards that. This is what the (Indian) community wants," said Subramaniam.

Amicable solution sought

In a related matter, Subramaniam said there was no point in getting emotional over the issue as it would not solve the problem.

He was referring to reports that some Indian NGOs wanted to protest over the issue.

He urged the NGOs and other interested parties to work with "one voice and one determination" to find an amicable solution to the problem.

"It was for this reason we held the meeting with the NGOs today to get their feedback and then submit it to the cabinet and the MIC education committee," he said.

Earlier, Subramaniam said he would not bow to threats, saying he had been on top of the issue and working closely with education ministry officials to find a solution.

It was reported that an opposition member had wanted to burn his effigy, purportedly to "vent the Indian community's frustration" over the issue.

- Bernama