January 21, 2026
KUALA LUMPUR – Schools across all education systems will be required to provide Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Bahasa Melayu and History subjects under the new education plan.
These include international schools, religious schools and those under the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the uniform requirement across Malaysia’s education system aims to bolster the status of Bahasa Melayu as the national language and to provide students with a common understanding of national history.
He said the policy aligns with the royal address given by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, at the opening of Parliament on Monday, which emphasised the importance of language in nation-building.
“I believe the vast majority of Malaysians, from all races and regions, agree with this and are prepared to implement it across all education systems in our country.
“What we are doing now is refining the policy,” he said when launching the National Education Plan 2026-2035 yesterday.
He said all education systems would be required to adopt the Bahasa Melayu curriculum set by the Education Ministry, including compulsory SPM examinations in Bahasa Melayu and History.
“This means all education streams must make Bahasa Melayu compulsory according to the ministry’s curriculum, including at the SPM level.
Even those in international schools must sit for the SPM Bahasa Melayu and Malaysian History examination,” he said.
Anwar said the requirement would also apply to religious schools, including community religious schools and Maahad Tahfiz institutions, which have seen a rapid increase in enrolment nationwide.
On the UEC stream, Anwar said the issue should no longer be contentious, with students already sitting for SPM, including the Bahasa Melayu paper.
“Under current regulations, Bahasa Melayu and Malaysian History are compulsory for international schools, religious schools and all Chinese-stream or UEC schools.
“With this approach, pathways to higher education – whether from international schools, religious schools or the UEC stream – should no longer be controversial,” he said.
He said national schools must also ensure enough teachers are available to support students who wish to learn additional languages, including Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic.
At the same time, Anwar also announced free education for all students with disabilities (OKU) studying at public higher education institutions, polytechnics and community colleges.
“Today, I also want to announce that all OKU students at public higher education institutions, polytechnics and community colleges, numbering around 3,000, will be given free education starting now,” he said.
In another announcement, the Prime Minister said the Federal Constitution and Malaysian history will be incorporated into the higher education syllabus through a revised General Studies subject.
Anwar said that while Bahasa Melayu and History are not compulsory at the tertiary level, a revamped General Studies course taught in Bahasa Melayu will be introduced from this year across all public and private universities for Malaysian students.
He also said the Higher Education Ministry will take over the entire pre-university education system, including Form Six and matriculation programmes, starting from next year.
The move would reclassify Form Six and matriculation students under the higher education framework rather than the school system, similar to how the Education Ministry oversees the preschool sector.
Currently, Form Six and matriculation students are under the purview of the Education Ministry.