Malaysia: No to English in Science & Mathematics · Global Voices
Jude Chia

No more English in science and mathematics by 2012. That is the long overdue decision from the Ministry of Education on the policy of teaching science and mathematics in English (PPSMI). The Education Minister stressed it is purely an objective decision and cited the rationale of the decision is based on poor English competence among teachers, widening performance gap between rural schools and urban schools. In a press conference, he again refuted the claim of political influence in the decision-making process.
This emphatic decision apparently will stay despite an online poll result (updated by 1650 GMT+8; Jul 13 2009) that shows 86% of 81,370 votes goes against the decision. This poll is initiated by none other than one of the strongest supporters of PPSMI, former PM Dr. Mahathir who disappointedly said:
Seems to me like the Government is not listening to the voices of the people. Perhaps a blog poll might enlighten the Government as to the opinions of the people.
This issue has undoubtedly taken a great emotional toll on all key stakeholders: influential lobby groups that momentarily declared victory, confused students, tired parents and teachers, and citizens who are generally concerned about education progress in the country. So is it a decision that reflects on objectivity or political pressure?
Wong Chun Wai, group chief editor of The Star newspaper commented in his personal blog that it is a rare political consensus that unites lobby groups, opposing parties to revert to Malay, Chinese and Tamil in teaching science and mathematics.
So, it's pretty clear that these political and education groups must know what they are talking about, politically, that is.
Twitter is not left out with the ongoing discussion on the decision. @Asohan wryly put it as a political shocker, an unusually rare occasion where an opposition chief will support PM Najib on a divisive issue.
Despite the stress on objectivity by the Education Minister, it will be hard to ignore political sentiments and interests that feature prominently in this issue. As Ibnu Hasyim commented:
Semuanya adalah angkara BN, maka kerajaan BN perlu dihukum kerana sudah membazirkan wang negara, masa dan anak-anak rakyat miskin yang menjadi korban. Hukumlah dengan menolak BN dalam PRU 13 akan datang bermula dengan pilihan raya kecih Manek Urai yang akan diadakan beberapa hari lagi.
National Association of Malaysian Islamic Students (PKPIM) said:
Keputusan itu merupakan satu tafsiran komitmen kerajaan untuk mempertahan dan mendaulatkan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan.
There continues to be a challenge to justify the objectivity of the decision. There is a consensus that the government decision is too shorted-sighted and not well-developed to consider the future of students and nation overall.
As the prominent social activist, Marina Mahathir put it:
Sad, because the leadership that we have do not have the spine to stand up to minority interests. Sad, because our children are sacrificed because the BN wants to win one by-election.
When rural schools are not as well equipped as urban ones, is that not to be expected? If you look at performance overall, doesn't that hold true anyway? Why should English be made the excuse for unequal distribution of resources between rural and urban schools? Surely when you see poor results from rural schools, what needs to be done is to improve the teaching in those schools. Not reverse an entire policy and bring urban kids down along with everyone else.
Some commentators on Twitter lamented on the rationality of the decision:
@jay_baharin after 6 yrs +RM4 billion of expenditure they abandon PPSMI easily…my sympathy toward all young students who will be more confused than ever….
@waski69 PPSMI – One small political step for UMNO/BN, one giant leap backward for the future of Malaysia-kind…
There will be a lot of interpretation on whether this is a political decision or an objective decision and only the decision makers will truly know. But what cannot be denied is the fact that Malaysia will need a few more years of experimentation to improve the command of English among students and the methodology in teaching science and mathematics. Sadly, the waiting time adds more uncertainty to the unanswered question of what is really the best practical solution to serve the nation and students. As one confused student aptly put in:
Two words: I'm shocked.
All the Science and Math terms in English, I've learnt and applied them for six years. And now I'll have to go back to square one in Form Four (10 grade)?
Now one question remains: What now?