According to Education Minister YB Fadhlina Sidek, the number of Malay students who enrolled in SJKC (Chinese Vernacular School) and SJKT (Tamil Vernacular School) has increased in the last few years.
As of 31st May 2026, 41,133 Malay students have been enrolled in SJKCs nationwide. This is a 9.01 per cent of the total student population in Chinese vernacular schools.
The number shows a increase from previous years. In 2022, there were 34, 870 Malay students who enrolled in SJKCs, which was 6.84 per cent. It later increased to 35,129 (6.99 per cent ) in 2023, 39,373 students (8.03 per cent ) in 2024, and 40,035 students (8.59 per cent ) in 2025.
More Malay Students Enrolling in SJKTs
Not just for SJKC YB Fadhlina also said that SJKTs have seen a increase in the number of Malay students.
In 2022, SJKTs recorded 227 students, which is 0.2 per cent of total enrollment. This number increased to 241 students (0.28 per cent ) in 2023, followed by 288 students (0.35 per cent ) in 2024, and 295 students (0.38 per cent ) in 2025. Now there’s a total of 320 Malay students are studying in SJKTs in Malaysia.
YB Fadhlina shared this numbers to a question from Zakri Hassan (PN-Kangar) who asked information on the number and percentage of Malay students enrolled in SJKCs and SJKTs in the last 5 years.
The latest figures shows a continued upward trend in Malay enrollment in Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools, which highlights the growing diversity within Malaysia’s education system.
Sources: The Malaysia Press
