Malaysiakini.com（http://www.malaysiakini.com）
(1) Review language issue in a more holistic way, 26 December 2008
by Yow Lop Siaw
So much has been discussed and debated over the use of language in education, unity and nation- building. While it is good and proper for a nation to adopt a national language policy and pursue its use so as to reflect its role, it should not have been done at the expense of English, especially so in an era where globalisation demands greater access to global markets and businesses.
Countries all over the world where English is not widely used realise the importance of mastering English and great efforts have been made to pursue this – China, Japan, Russia and you name it!
No one has questioned the role and importance of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language and I am sure most of us, Malays and non-Malays alike, have accepted the important role of Bahasa Malaysia, and this is well reflected in the fact that most Malaysians have learnt and mastered the language well. Attaching greater importance and attention to learning English does not make one less patriotic or nationalistic.
What went wrong with its implementation in the 70s was the simultaneous de-emphasising of the English language, so much so the standard of English of many students who completed SPM in the 1980s and after showed a significant drop. What we have today is a pathetic scenario as far as the standard of spoken and written English is concerned, including the proficiency of English amongst editors of the media.
With the frequency of the use of SMSes and the Internet chat-rooms, where short forms are a norm, there is only one predicted outcome in terms of English language skills – further deterioration. The call to re-introduce English medium schools is out of the question as this contradicts the national education policy. If allowed, it would be interesting to see how this would affect the racial composition of such schools. Would this result in greater racial polarisation?
The most sensible approach would be to step up the teaching of English in all schools and this enhancement exercise needs proper and systematic planning and implementation, different from the ad hoc practice of the past. This would entail
1. Planning manpower needs – the number of teachers required for the whole exercise, including suitability of candidates. Teachers sent for such training must be suitably qualified in the first place.
2. Proper training – local or overseas, as well as type, duration and suitability of programme
3. Proper supervision and monitoring – we are, after all, noted for poor supervision and monitoring (projects, buildings and programmes). The inspectorate division must revert to its original role of overseeing proper delivery and the maintenance of quality and standards.
We hardly see inspectors performing this role these days. Instead, they get tied up with going through reports on ‘Excellent Schools’ (Sekolah Cemerlang) and the physical beauty of schools more than their actual role.
A prominent academic has also advocated doing away with vernacular schools. This view makes sense only when the national school system has the means to accommodate adequate and appropriate development of the Chinese and Tamil languages, which means increased teaching periods and better trained teachers in these two languages in the national schools.
This is possible only when a major revamp of the school system is effected, such as having single session schools and at the same time, stretching school hours to beyond the current hours, which will translate into longer studying hours for school children and teachers. Or the education ministry may want to review the structure of the entire school syllabus and in the process, adjust duration requirements for every subject and incorporate Chinese and Tamil Languages as additional subjects.
Just abolishing vernacular schools is out of the question, as globalisation and greater mobility amongst the work force demands mastery of more than just Bahasa Malaysia and English.
Unity is another hot topic lately and discussions on ways and means of forging unity have always been shallow and narrow. Schools in the 50s and 60s had children of various races learning and playing together without reservations. We just treated each other as classmates – we joked, we laughed and we competed healthily, without any notion of a classmate’s colour and race. Race and colour only reared its ugly head much later, when discriminative policies made it so.
We understand and we accept the fact that the weaker segment of the populace should receive assistance and we ourselves are prepared to extend a helping hand. But when all these were carried out at the expense of the non-Malays, which should not have been the case, then these would invariably invite adverse reaction.
In other words, extreme implementation of certain policies – in education, jobs and contracts served to drive a divisive wedge into unity – one that makes us view ourselves more as Chinese or Indians than Malaysians. Had the assistance been given out on a more balanced mode, the objection and rejection could have been less and unity would not have been so badly affected.
And this is exactly why thousands of brainy Malaysians opt not to return to Malaysia year after year. This brain drain cannot be attributed to just poor incentives and packages, as often alleged. Again, those who brainstorm on ways and means of attracting these highly qualified professionals back to Malaysia are harping on peripheral issues when they conclude each session with better packages and incentives.
These people, mainly politicians, for reasons only known to themselves, simply do not have the political will to face up to reality. The more important and critical issue are government job prospects and promotion policies whereby a non-Malay hits the ceiling at 40 or so, despite being more qualified and experienced.
Remove extreme policies in the civil service and once this happens, I am very sure many non-Malays would opt to join the teaching service, the police force, the army, etc. Singapore came out with a bright idea of recognising our medical degrees recently. Many doctors are aware of the high standards demanded of them should they opt to work in Singapore.
Hence, only the cream of Malaysian qualified doctors would want to apply and even then, they would need to get past pre-job interviews. And many qualified doctors have opted to work in Singapore since.
Let us now take a step back and review the issue of language and unity in a more holistic way. Cast aside political selfishness, racial sentiments and look at the issue from a more practical and academic perspective and do justice to our younger generations. Just take a look at ministers and high ranking officials who struggle to say something simple in international meetings and conferences. It is simply pathetic.
(2) Bahasa Melayu can be turned into a global winner, 26 December 2008
by Saad Hashim
I reckon Christmas time is a good time to nail it into the heads of those Malaysians who are either ambivalent or outright opposed to Bahasa Melayu becoming the language of knowledge, the language of commerce and the medium to bring about some semblance of Bangsa Malaysia.
This may look like a very unlikely analogy, but you see, Santa Claus and his reindeers do not even exist. It’s a complete myth from the pagan era and yet just look at what had happened since Santa and his stocking came into the lives of every child of the world.
At Tesco Ampang (presumably at all mega-stores) I saw many Muslim children flock around to the Santa at the entrance (a huge Indian guy inside) to get their balloons. This is also the time all Muslim workers at fast food joints and American coffee shops are made to wear the Santa hats.
I am sure many of you will notice that the way Christmas and New Year are celebrated in Malaysia, it looks as if Christianity is the biggest religion in Malaysia. I am sure the commercial turnover at Christmas is second only to the Chinese New Year.
What I am trying to say is that if given the added value, anything in this world can be turned into a global winner. That is what happened to Santa Claus and the English language. Narrow minded or perhaps anti-Bahasa Malaysians may think that English is the only language of science and technology but this is not true at all because scientists and mathematicians in China, Korea, Japan, Italy, Indonesia etc do not talk to each other about science in English but in their own languages.
On the other hand, all the former British and French colonies in Africa, have long adopted English and French as their lingua franca (to the detriment of their mother tongues), yet it got them no where.
What it means is that at the international stage, scientists will perhaps discuss in English but the ordinary people in any country who are mainly concerned with their daily humdrum lives should not create suspicion and embarrassment speaking in different languages (like we do now).
Thus why can’t Bahasa Malaysia be given the added value as the language of the leisure industry, the manufacturing sector and the socio-economic sector including and and mathematics? Those who are ardent supporters of English as Malaysia’s lingua franca are either very colonial in their thinking, or because English has given them a very comfortable life and they do not know any other way.
If they say Bahasa Melayu is ill-equipped to become Malaysia’s national language or as the language of science and commerce, they are obviously unaware that in the early days of the US, English, too, was a minority language and German was almost adopted as the language of the new country like Quebec choosing French or Louisiana opting for the French judicial system.
As we say good-bye to 2008 which had brought some changes in our political and democratic landscapes, the education system has apparently entered an era of organised chaos, thanks to Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had dictatorially ordered the switch to English for the teaching of Science and Mathematics which then wreaked havoc on the communication landscape of Malaysians.
While the problem remains unresolved, Santa Claus in all our mega-stores howling: Ho! Ho! Ho!
(3) Malay writers may sue gov't on language switch, 24 December 2008
The government is facing the prospect of being taken to court over its decision to teach Mathematics and Science in English.
The Federation of Malay Writers Associations (Gapena) yesterday issued a Dec 31 deadline to the government to stop the teaching of these two subjects in English.
Failing which, the movement said, it would take several actions, among which is to take the matter to court.
Gapena's deputy president Prof Dr Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar said it wanted the government to be firm and decide on the issue soonest possible.
"The education minister can say we are being emotional. Yes, we are emotional (over this matter) but it is only to protect the position of Bahasa Malaysia as provided in the federal constitution," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report.
Gapena has been vocal in opposing the use of English for those two subjects, which was implemented in 2003, ostensibly to stem the declining standards of English language among students.
Policy review decision soon
It was implemented in phases, starting with Year One, Form One and Lower Six students in 2003.
The first group who completed six years of primary schooling and studied the two subjects in English received their UPSR results last month.
The government had previously stated that it would review the policy this year, and a series of roundtable discussions have been held with the stakeholders and the ministry for that purpose.
Gapena has for long been pressuring the government to revert the teaching and learning of Maths and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.
Likewise, vernacular education groups have also been calling for the government to use mother-tongue languages to teach the two subjects.
In recent weeks, BN component parties such as MCA, Gerakan and MIC have also called for a change in the system so that mother-tongue languages are given the preference.
(4) Great for Malaysians to learn Mandarin, Arabic, 23 December 2008
by Anas Zubedy
The debate if Maths and Science should be in English or in Bahasa Malaysia is missing the point.
It is obvious that it is not enough to have these two subjects to be taught in that language if our goal is proficiency. We need a reading subject too.
I propose History in place of mathematics. History is nearest to reading a storybook. Loads of words, description of people, places, events and subject matters – including Maths and Science! As the Chinese would say ‘One leg kick ‘or in Penang Hokkien ‘hamplang’ - meaning covering all.
Instead of debating for petty self-interest and political expediency, we should put our politics aside and focus on what is needed for our people to not just survive but do well in the future. To really score, we need to be proficient in four languages in the future. So our subjects in school should be divided between these four languages. Let me elaborate.
For national unity - Bahasa Malaysia. Let’s allocate South East Asian Studies and history of Malaysia (yes, this should be a separate subject to general history), Arts, Music, Civics (yes we need this subject back in full force) and Malay literature – should include an in-depth study of Peribahasa as it is the gems of Malay tradition.
To deal with the globalised world – English for Science because currently it is the language of knowledge and the main language today facilitating the World Wide Web. History as explained earlier should also be in English.
For business and socio-politics – Mandarin and Arabic – yes, Arabic too unless you want a small group of people who claim to know the language to monopolise Islam and run policies that affects your lives without question.
Being Arabic-illiterate, you will be deemed to be not qualified to give your opinions. To make things work, the masses must be able to question policy-makers. And, please don’t think if you are not a Muslim you will not be affected – don’t be in denial, just look around you.
China most likely will be the most powerful nation in the world, so Mandarin is a must. Not just for the Chinese but all Malaysians. We allocate Mathematics to be taught in Mandarin. Yes, Maths should be in Mandarin, not English. Anyone who is familiar with the Chinese language or dialects would see how they are a superior platform for maths.
Common sense will show you that the Chinese language and dialects have numbers in their DNA. Even in naming the seven days of the week is by numbering – in Hokkien, Monday is ‘Pai It’ (day one), Tuesday is ‘Pai Ji’ day two, Wednesday is ‘ Pai Sa’ Day three, and so on.
My house number is 164, in Cantonese its ‘Yat Lok See’ meaning ‘All the way Die’! So my Chinese friends advise me to add a ‘B’ by my address as ‘B’ looks like the number 8 – a good number for the Chinese. So now my ‘mooi pai’ (house number) is transformed into ‘Yat Lok See Fat’ meaning ‘ All the way (‘mati-mati’ pun) good fortune’!
For Arabic - geography. Like history, it carries a lot of words and stories too. Arabic will become one of the most important language (again).The Chinese are united by the language, the Muslims by the Quran and the Arabic language. Arabic used to be the language of science and knowledge but now has lost its glory together with the Muslim civilisation.
But the passion of the Muslim is burning (currently mostly still in the wrong ‘pots’) and Islam will make its impact felt – in both good (eg - universal values of the Quran) and bad (eg. Like the myopic banning of yoga). Best we know the language too.
The above ideas represent a conceptual outlook. It will take a long time to deal with the needs, strategy and planning - like at what stage do we introduce which subject. But language is best taught during pre-school and the earlier years – yes, first start with the teaching of languages as the languages are the tools not the ends.
In other words, focus on languages first as it will open future opportunities. Don’t be parochial and sectarian. It is great for a Malay to learn Mandarin and a Chinese and Indian to learn Arabic. Don’t worry, all languages and cultures belong to God, so we all have a claim to them.
This idea will take a lot of work, political will and throwing away of prejudice but once we know the ‘whys’ we will find the ‘hows’.
(5) Teach Mathematics in English right from primary school, 22 December 2008
by P Sritharan
During the second half of this year, one topic has been hotly, widely and intensely discussed in Malaysia by people from all walks of life. Yes, it is the decision whether to continue teaching Mathematics and Science in English or to revert back to teaching the subjects in Bahasa Melayu in our schools.
Surprisingly, the majority of Malaysians who expressed their views through the media, strongly favour these two subjects being taught in English. The stereotype reason is that it would improve the students’ command of English, thus make them more competitive in the job market.
I absolutely agree with the above statement, and also agree with those who say that the strong foundation in English would also give them self confidence and self respect. This is quite common in the developing countries like ours.
There are many graduates out there who are shy and hesitate to communicate with others especially with those from other ethnic groups.
I quite disagree with the majority of those who discussed the issue by linking Mathematics and Science together. I would prefer to discuss them separately as they need not be treated similarly.
Let us first look at Mathematics. It is a subject which involve more figures and the treatment of figures. The command of English needed here is quite basic. Therefore, it is not taxing for the students to study Mathematics in English right from the primary school level.
However, it should not be misconstrued that the students would not improve their English by doing Mathematics.
On the other hand, Science is a mostly theoretical subject which needs descriptions and understanding of certain terminologies. Thus, a reasonabe foundation in English vocabulary and knowledge of the so called ‘bombastic’ words are needed. This means that it would burden primary school students.
Having considered the above, my verdict is: teach Mathematics in English right from primary school. However, Science is safer to be taught from secondary school.
(6) English as the medium - what has gone wrong?, 22 December 2008
by Mohamed Zain
I refer to the letter Teach all subjects in English before it's too late.
I am very concerned with what the writer is proposing in that the medium of instructions of all national schools be changed to English. Ironically, s/he also proposed that the vernacularly schools be maintained. I know s/he has good intention in giving the proposal. But, that proposal is certainly suggesting a move in a backward direction rather than forward.
It’s unmistakable that the change to BM as the medium of instructions in schools has been and is a very good move. Now everyone who has gone through the national schools (at least those who have passed and finished secondary schools) can read and write in BM. No one can deny that having a common language is necessary for national unity and nation building.
The writer seems to forget that Malaysia is not English-land. So, why the heck should the national language be English (even though s/he was only hinting since s/he did not say it outright)?
Which now bring me to another important point. Yes, everyone in the country should be able to speak English. I would like to stress here that each person must be good in English. So, English should be continued to be taught in schools as a second language to one’s mother tongue language.
That has already happened in the country, but the success has not been satisfactory since most of the
citizens who have graduated from national schools, particularly those from rural areas, cannot communicate effectively in English.
So, what has gone wrong? Could it be that the teachers who taught them were not qualified? Or that most of the schools were not properly equipped with the necessary language labs? The ministry of education needs to investigate the root cause of the problem and find solutions once and for all.
I would now touch on the issue of the vernacular schools. No one can deny that the presence of these schools is against the spirit of national unity. Basically, it is a practice of legal segregation of our school children based on ethnicity since huge majority of the pupils in these schools is of the same ethnicity. How can we expect the children to understand those of other ethnic groups in the country if they are kept separate from these groups at such an early age?
But I am not suggesting that the vernacular schools should be abolished entirely. Instead, I am suggesting that they should be integrated with the rest of the national schools. As a consequence of this move I would suggest the following win-win actions on the part of the government:
1. All schools should maintain the medium of instruction of BM (the national language for national unity)
2. All schools should teach English as a second language (the universal international language)
3. All schools should teach a third language of Mandarin (a language of more than one billion people)
4. If a school has a large number of students of another ethnicity such as Tamil or Iban, then Mandarin can be substituted with either Tamil, Iban, etc.
I would like to stress here that all Malaysians should be well conversed in at least three languages. This is certainly fairer than the current state of affairs where most Malays can only converse in, at most, two languages (BM and English) where as most non-Malays can converse in at least three languages (BM, English, and mother tongue language).
Thus, if the third language is available in the national schools, then the need for separate vernacular schools should not be there.
Of course, the implications to the ministry of education and the country are far-reaching, particularly in the short run. But, in the long run, it should help our country attain a better social integration of its citizens. A number of steps need to be undertaken by the government.
First, language teaching must be taken very seriously. Adequate funding must be made available to ensure that teachers receive good training in all the required languages, particularly English and Mandarin.
Second, all schools, whether rural or urban must be adequately equipped with language labs so that the
teaching of the languages can be done more effectively.
Third, we must make sure that upon graduation from high schools, our students have pretty good command of BM, English, and a third language.
Fourth, once we have achieved our objective of having our school graduates who are conversant in at least three languages, I would now go far out as to suggest that the main medium of instructions of the universities in the country be changed to English.
The current situation where private universities are allowed to use English as the medium of instruction
whereas public universities are made to use BM as the medium of instruction is down right unfair to the
students. It will make the graduates of government universities less employable as compared to those of the private universities.
We need to do change the medium of instructions of universities to English in order to make our country more competitive and be able to face the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. Many countries, eg those of the Middle East, have already switched the medium of instructions for many of their programs in universities, particularly those in business and economics, engineering, and science and technology, to English.
Fifth, the choice for our students to learn their mother tongue language at an advanced level in the university should be now be widened and expanded. The output of these programmes can help the country to be self- sufficient in third language teachers for our national schools. This will help the country lower the training costs of the third language teachers (instead of sending them overseas for language training).
Last but certainly not the least, the country should also seriously work towards creating a truly “Bangsa Malaysia” for all the citizens of the country.
Thus, it is essential that the government remove the need to state one’s race and religion in the national
identity card (IC) or in any other identity cards. In fact, the need to state one’s race and religion in such forms as job application, etc., should be banned altogether. Every citizen should think of himself/herself as Malaysian first, before anything else.
(7) A compromise is possible, 12 December 2008
by Nkkhoo
The long-debated issue of teaching Maths and Science in English seems to be in a deadlock, with opposing views from two major groups of parents - those from urban areas and those from rural areas.
Students from urban areas are coping well, what with all the resources available to them. But most parents in rural areas and new villages are complaining that learning Maths and Science in English is a very heavy burden for their children.
These parents are fully aware of the importance of English in today's world, but due to a lack of resources in guiding their children in mastering English, they cannot help but feel that their children are being disadvantaged.
Things are not being made easier for them especially as their often objective voice is ignored by both the government and the media.
Our government is barking up the wrong tree in solving the problem. Those in power must first tackle the problem of students’ poor grasp of the English language. Improving the level of English amongst our students must come from learning the language itself, not from learning Maths and Science.
The sensible way to prepare our students for future challenges is by reintroducing English as the teaching medium for all subjects except languages in secondary and tertiary institutions. At the same time, we must maintain vernacular and Malay primary schools which are valuable assets to all Malaysians.
Being bilingual or multilingual is a great asset for students, and like it or not, vernacular education provides students with the valuable asset of being proficient in more than one language. However, seeing as how this issue has been politicised, I doubt the people who have slammed vernacular schools will take this fact into account.
The next question is how to prepare our students for a world dominated by the English language, especially the technological fields, if we revert to mother tongue languages for Maths and Science?
A compromise will be to use English technical terms in Maths and Science textbooks. Technical term memorisation can be made a vital part exams to force our primary school students to absorb and understand English technical terms at an early stage.
With the proper teaching of English and a focus on English technical terms in Math and Science, our students can easily explore and acquire technical and engineering knowledge from vast resources chiefly written and published in English.
And more importantly for our policy makers, such a solution is politically correct and will not jeopardise the future of our next generations.
(8) Teach all subjects in English before it's too late, 5 December 2008
by A Concerned Citizen
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Mukhriz: Close down vernacular schools.
In order to forge unity, if that was the true intention, then my suggestion is that all national schools subjects be taught in English.
This will help to remove the political element from schools and education. The current political scenario is race based and trying to force any particular racial group to study in a single language which is not their mother tongue will not work.
English would be a neutral medium for all the main races in Malaysia and let us not go back to the polemics that English means we have still not broken away from the shackles of British colonialism.
Or that if we don’t accept Bahasa Malaysia we are not loyal Malaysians and that given a slight chance or reason we will immediately pack our bags and head back to China or India etc.
We should also allow vernacular schools to exist as an option but their funding should not then be a priority of the government since the emphasis would then be on English medium national schools and the unity of Malaysians.
With national schools in the English medium, it should be compulsory that Bahasa Malaysia be a compulsory language subject. Other mother tongue language subjects should also be taught and be provided with good and effective support in these national schools for those who wish to learn these mother tongue languages.
This will ensure our national schools will produce Malaysians who are proficient in the English language which as we all know is the language of commerce in this globalised world.
Why do you think most of the BN politicians send their children overseas where the medium of teaching is in English? One has even become a permanent resident of another country just to do that.
Don’t keep on lying to the Malaysian public please as Malaysians nowadays are much more aware of hypocritical politicians.
And please, let’s not think that putting a quota for non-Malay teachers in national schools will solve this problem. This will still mean that we are being race-based in our thinking for the national education system.
I can hear some people in the background screaming ‘Why only 40%,? Why not 30% or 60%?’
We made a grave mistake in changing the medium of teaching in our schools from English to Bahasa Malaysia in the 1970s. Let’s admit that was a huge mistake.
All of us allowed shortsighted politicians with vested interests then to create today’s situation. These very same politicians are now sending their children to schools and colleges overseas where the medium of instruction is in English.
Let’s change the medium of instructions in our schools totally to English before it is too late. For the sake of the future generations of loyal Malaysians, let’s not kid ourselves and let politicians lie to us again.
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