Kota Kinabalu: Parti Warisan expressed deep disappointment over the State Government’s continued inaction in securing a Dual Language Programme (DLP) exemption for Sabah.
Parti Warisan State Strategic Communication Director Christopher Masudal said schoolchildren in rural areas, both Muslim and non-Muslim Bumiputera, stand to lose the most from the lack of a serious English mastery agenda.
“While Sarawak fought for its educational priorities, Sabah did not. The state has remained largely silent on the matter.
“In contrast, the Sarawak Government has spent years constructing a solid legal and institutional framework for English-medium education, which is now yielding results,” he said in a statement.
He said Sarawak’s unique assessment, the Ujian Penilaian DLP (UP-DLP), was implemented following formal approval from the federal Ministry of Education.
The initiative was firmly anchored on the provisions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which he said explicitly grants the state the authority to oversee its own educational assessments.
Advertisement
Masudal emphasised that the achievement was not a matter of luck, but the result of a state government fighting “tooth and nail” for its children.
He pointed to the structural framework in Sarawak that has proven successful.
In October 2025, a total of 29,177 Year Six pupils across 1,050 schools throughout Sarawak, including those in remote and rural areas, sat for the inaugural UP-DLP.
State authorities credited the massive logistical feat to years of rigorous preparation and seamless inter-agency cooperation.
In February 2026, Sarawak’s Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) confirmed that the framework would be permanently retained due to its effectiveness.
MEITD is currently entering into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS) to implement the UP-DLP Sarawak 2026, signalling a fully funded, continuous institutional commitment rather than a temporary measure.
Masudal noted Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari’s stance that English proficiency must go hand in hand with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to equip youth for the global economy, given that the vast majority of global STEM research is published in English.
Furthermore, Sarawak’s Education Minister has noted that many graduates miss out on job opportunities, particularly with multinational corporations, not because they lack qualifications, but due to poor English proficiency.
He questioned the absence of a similar commitment in Sabah. He noted that despite the passage of several state budgets under the current GRS administration, not a single one had designated funding for DLP implementation.
Sabah currently lacks an equivalent to the UP-DLP, has pursued no federal-level exemptions and has established no ministry-driven university partnerships akin to MEITD to institutionalise English mastery.
Warisan reaffirmed that prioritising the DLP and English mastery in Sabah remains a core party agenda for the future of the state’s children.
The party suggested that if the Federal Government remains unwilling to grant a DLP exemption to national schools in Sabah, the State Government must secure DLP exemptions for mission schools.
.png)
