The Malaysian Insider

Quote “save pupils and students who otherwise might fail their examinations because of their weakness in English”.
This proves that these pupils are backward and the teachers are still in the jungle. Have you heard of globalization? Do you know what are the international languages?

We may speak in our dialects at our hometown, but not overseas

NGO like Gapena who support scrap the teaching of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI) with a lame excuses to "save pupils and students who otherwise might fail their examinations because of their weakness in English” are not helping the nation to progress but in fact pulling the handbrake. Always looking for short cut & not a long term solution to a problem. Vision 2020 would be just that - a dream.

The main problem is not to 'save the pupils who otherwise might fail in their exams' but to save your own job as professor when all pupils do well in learning Maths & Science in English.
You might become redundant.

"save pupils and students who otherwise might fail their examinations because of their weakness in English"

Can't believe that a professor will make such a statement...its like saying make the exams easier otherwise they will fail...

Its so sad that these people who are supposed to help the students to excel is so shallow in their thinking. What we need to do is help students to overcome their weakness for them to progress and not to avoid their weakness...if one is to back down and avoid their weakness how will they become strong and face the world...

this is msia. just swallow the bitter pill lah. public got no more say.

err,guys..
i admit english is important,so let our children learn in the subject..
i really like to see other subjects especially math n science b taugt in national language
like other developed country.
national language is Bhasa Malaysia,and i could b bias since im malay..
but why cant we utilize our national language as other county do
korea,taiwan,china and thailand never left behind with their own language.
do you think they learnt math n science in English?

What about the students that will fail their Maths and Science because of the sudden switch after years of learning it in English?

I suppose GAPENA (being The Federation of Malay Writers Associations) is ready with translated versions of all current textbooks and teaching materials, and that's why they are pushing for immediate change. They are also probably proactively working with foreign science magazines like "New Scientist" and "Horrible Science" to introduce Bahasa Malaysia (not Bahasa Melayu, as that would not promote 1Malaysia) versions of these science magazines.

I suppose since GAPENA is so proactive and is taking ownership of the needs for fast an accurate translation of materials, they are justified in making statements like this.

NOT.

Perhaps GAPENA did not hear or read what Raja Nazrin Shah said about English language being the global lingua franca of the 21st century.

Or, perhaps GAPENA prefers Malaysian to live in a "tempurung", just like themselves, and let the world move ahead of us?

It is the money gapena. Regurgitated revision course books in Bahasa has been a top money spinner for these authors and the printers. You may call it the 'education toll 'not unlike PLUS. Every year's wait is loss of income. Who is worried of the end product.

Gapena is not the one sitting for the exam. So what risk is there for them to say what they want? Perhaps the Govt should give the exam in BM on science and maths to Gapena EXCO to see if they would pass it. Then the reality of issues might sink in their head.

They just do want the pupil and students to become smart or computer literates. When they become smart they stop voting for BN. For BN to survive the people must be kept stupid.

English should not be viewed as the benchmark for excellence.

Why do some Malay parents send their kids to Chinese schools?

Those who are bad at science and maths in Malay are likely to be worse at those subjects in English.

English is not really the key to solving our problems.

Our gomen is a caring gomen. They now give away free crutches from the cradle right up to the grave, tak comprehendo?

How long can the Malaysian government shield those who are weak in English from globalization? And at what expense?

Malaysia is possibly the only country that pegs success to lower achievements - revert to teaching in Malay because the kampung folks cannot catch up. LOL.

Given Prof Emeritus Ismail Hussein's academic background and area of specialisation, I am not surprised by the position that he has taken. Prof. Ismail should, however, realise that there is a world beyond Malay literature - a vast, vast world that is zomming ahead, a world that will not pause and wait for any nation or peoples to catch up with it. It is a world that will continue to develop and grow whether we like it or not.

Secondly, Prof. Ismail should also understand that in the current phase of globalisation it is those nations that are able to latch on to it that will grow and develop. These are the nations whose human capital are best suited to the generation and adoption of new ideas and technology. In other words, if we want to participate and benefit from the current phrase of globalisation our people must possess the academic, intellectual and social skills that will enable them to merge into and become part of this globalisation process.

Thirdly, Prof. Ismail must realise that this current phase of globalisation is driven by the generation of new ideas and technology, and most of these come to us in the English language. In the academic sphere, as Prof. Ismail should be well aware, having been an academic himself, one important measure of academic performance is the number of refereed papers that an academic has published in journals referenced in the International Scientific Index (ISI). If we looks at the journals referenced in the ISI we will see that the vast majority of these journals are in the English language. So the English language is, whether we like it or not, a very important language for the acquisition of new ideas and technology.

In light of the above, my advice to Prof. Ismail and his colleagues in Gapena is that they should open their minds and vision to a world that is far bigger than Malay literature. They should open their eyes and look at the world beyond their own areas of expertise.

@color blinded muslim

Please do not compare Malaysia with Korea, China, Taiwan etc. These countries/people had books, scholars, places of higher learning and joined the industrial age centuries earlier than us. We started late and as far as science and technology are concerned and we have to keep up with the rapid pace or lose out.

GAPENA is behaving like a spoilt kid throwing tantrums and cannot control its emotions and behaviour.

How does one deal with a problematic child making demands to be fulfilled immediately, else he will throw himself on the floor crying for attention?

Or, is GAPENA suffering from attention deficiency syndrome associated with disruptive behaviour, learning difficulties, and underachievement?

Let's observe the symptoms further, and come up with a treatment program in due course.

Have any of you read any Science text books written for secondary school students? If you haven't I would suggest that you do right away. Just pick up a Form 4 Science textbook. The standard of English is too high for today's students who are not fluent in English at all. What is needed is to re-write these books in simple Englsih which could be understood by today's children. No child in government national schools would understand the meaning of "adversely affected", "a whole host of problems". I doubt our university students could understand these English phrases.

Instead of reverting to Bahasa Malaysia, we need to use simple English in the Science and mathematics text books and introduce English grammer as a subject instead of moral studies. Even in the old days when Science was taught in English, the words used were simple and easy to understand by a student whose first language is not English.

If after 9 years of studying English, a student still can't understand a simple phrase like "adversely affected", then they never will. It is shocking that a student in Form 4 should have such a poor command of the English language that people feel rather than bringing the level of English studies up to address the problem, we should instead dumb it down!

I have lived in Ireland now for ten years. Multilingual speakers are in high demand due to the rapid rise of the services industry. This is also true of the pharmaceutical industry, both of which require a strong command of the English language. In the case of pharmaceuticals, the knowledge and understanding of scientific terms in English are of course required. In the multilingual jobs, a command of English and one other language is required. I have yet to come across a single vacancy that requires a Malay language speaker. While other countries place an emphasis on English so as to ensure their people can compete in the wider world, Malaysia decides instead not to look at the big picture and mollycoddle their young, placing an importance on passing exams.

Fcts are facts. No matter the sentimental or patriotic reasoning behind the use of B. Malaysia, English is the language of business and science in most parts of the world. Deal with it!