Putrajaya, Dec 3 : Malaysia''s Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has said that vernacular schools will continue to be a part of the country''s education system as long as the Malay Chinese and Malay Indian communities need them.

"For as long as the Indian and Chinese communities need to have the vernacular schools, it will continue to be a part of the national education system," Razak said after chairing the 61st meeting of the National Council for Local Government here on Tuesday.

He said it had been a long-standing government policy to allow Malaysians to choose the school system they wanted to adopt, The Star Online reported.

When asked about a call by Umno Youth chief candidate Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir for the Government to abolish the system, Najib said, "The Chinese and Indians in this country are of the opinion that such schools are important to them. It is a place for them to instil values among the young."

"For instance, not everyone in the Chinese society are of the same faith and they feel that having a vernacular school will act as a platform to instil useful and positive values among community members," he added. (ANI)