KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — A pro-English lobby group has dismissed accusations that it is “elitist”, pointing out that many of its members who came from non-English-speaking families had benefited from knowing the language.
Parent Action Group for Education deputy chairman Sulaiman Mahran said many of its members who were now seen as “elite” owed much to the awareness of and exposure to English, the “main catalyst” for their current success.
He nonetheless pointed out that the “elite” label was actually an acknowledgment of the success the group’s members had achieved through their mastery of English.
“Isn’t [being called] elite an acknowledgment of success in this world? Isn’t it the country’s elite (ministers) in Parliament who formulate national policies for rural and urban folks?” Sulaiman said in a press statement today.
“Isn’t it the elite professionals overseas that the government is pleading to return to [Malaysia] through Talent Corp?”
Sulaiman said that Page was merely fighting for the right of all Malaysians to learn Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI), while not opposing the decision by individual schools to teach the two subjects in Malay.
“We just want schools to be given the option to choose PPSMI or otherwise,” he said.
He stressed that the standing of Malay as the national language would not be threatened by PPSMI as Malay would still be used 60 per cent of the time for lessons even if Science and Mathematics were taught in English.
Sulaiman claimed that the current Malay-only policy halved students’ exposure to English to just 20 per cent of total teaching hours, which would weaken their mastery of English.
“With that, our children’s generation will be restricted in mastering knowledge,” he said.
Sulaiman was responding to an article published in Malay daily Utusan Malaysia last Friday which called Page an elite, urban movement that did not take into account the views of rural parents.
Page has been on a two-year campaign since the government decided to abolish PPSMI in 2009 and recently embarked on a nationwide roadshow in a bid to expand its membership.
Despite the low turnout at its recent Kuala Lumpur forum, the group was well-received in Penang and Melaka, prompting invitations from parents in Perak, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak to hold similar forums there.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, however, confirmed last week that the government had no plans to backtrack on its decision to abolish PPSMI despite relentless efforts by Page to reverse the policy.
Wee also denied that the decision to stop the policy was politically motivated, as alleged by Page.
In the government’s new policy, the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics for Form One students will remain strictly in Bahasa Melayu from next year on.
For Standard One children this year, both subjects will also be taught strictly in Bahasa Melayu.
