For the past few months, the Malaysian public have been waiting with bated breath to see if the Government would consider implementing the PPSMI (Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris – The Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English) Policy as an option in our public schools.
Without going into the murky details, the Government had, in 2009, announced that it would discontinue the PPSMI Policy and implement the MBMMBI (Memartabatkan Bahasa Melayu dan Memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris – Upholding Bahasa Melayu, Strengthening English) Policy in stages, beginning 2012.
As did most concerned parents, I too closely followed the slew of discussions, meetings, blogs, press statements, etc. that were unabashedly published widely over the internet. I had obvious cause for concern as in 2012, my 3 children would still be in the school system and the change would affect them.
Initially, I was ‘gung ho’ that English should remain the medium of instruction for Science and Math as almost all relevant terminologies used worldwide, save the ones that are in Latin, are in English. I felt that my children would be deprived of their fundamental right to be educated in a language that would propel them into tertiary education with a solid foundation. I expressed my views to anyone and everyone that would lend me their ear and urged my fellow Malaysians to support the call for the PPSMI to be continued.
Since then however, my view has changed drastically. Why? I attended a talk given by a prominent Malaysian Educationist who has been known to me since I myself was a child. When this speaker touched on the subject of the PPSMI Policy, I was asked point blank if I felt that I had been deprived of a solid foundation in Science and Math since I had been taught both subjects in BM throughout my school years. Taken aback and given only a few moments to think about my response, I realised that I had fared none the worse for it. Frankly, I had never thought of it that way. Yes, I had gone through my entire primary and secondary school years learning all subjects, sans English in BM and yet I had made the transition fairly seamlessly once I left school. That fateful evening, I was in total conflict with myself. On the one hand I was fighting for my children’s rights and on the other, I had just come to the realisation that I had come through unscathed. Perhaps, I had been looking at it from a distorted perspective all this while.
So, where do we all stand now? Do we risk forsaking our National language so that our children will have this “slight” edge when they embark on their tertiary studies or should we instead strengthen and improve the English Language curriculum and the teaching methodology currently in place? I use the term “slight” as the numbers so far show only a marginal increase in passes for the 2 subjects. I believe that instead of hiring native speakers to teach the English Language, we should perhaps hire English experts to help rewrite our English curriculum in order to bring it up to par with the rest of the English speaking world. Having been an English teacher at the secondary school level, I can safely say that the level of English being taught in our schools now is deplorable.
Most 4th and 5th formers cannot tell the difference between an adverb and an adjective, let alone know which is the correct tense to use when speaking. The English curriculum needs a complete revamp and a strict and stringent selection process must be employed in the selection of Trainee English Teachers.
Let’s not kid ourselves here; the one thing that unites all Malaysians is our National Language. It is the very thread that holds the multi coloured and multi textured fabric of our society together, the one thing that we can all say that we truly share. We are a people of many races and religions and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find things in which we can find common ground. We are quick to complain that we are losing our Asian culture and embracing the West too wholeheartedly and yet we have dismissed the use of our National Language as the medium of instruction as trivial and irrelevant. We feel sad when we watch documentaries of civilisations and/or cultures that have lost their identities and yet we are throwing ours down the drain.
Let us come together as a nation, as one people; let’s put aside our political differences and show our children and the youth of tomorrow that we take pride in our National Language. Our National Language must be made the beaming Bride and not the Bridesmaid who smiles politely and blends into the background.
*This piece is the personal opinion or view of the writer. The NRC11 does not endorse this view unless specified.
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