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Work with Indonesia to strengthen Malay language

A lot has been said recently about the teaching of science and maths in English in Malaysian schools. I hereby wish to critically examine some arguments that proponents of the policy put forward.

First of all, we must keep in mind that children learn better in their mother tongue. This is a fact that any educationist knows. Educationists will also tell you that English is best learned as a subject taught by professional language teachers.

Second, school pupils do not need English to access scientific literature because they deal with a relatively small set of basic principles of science that are mostly stable and that are available in the mediums of instruction used in Malaysian schools.

In fact, English as a key to knowledge is generally needed at university where students often have to consult works written in English. Even in that case they need a working knowledge of academic English rather than a perfect command of the whole language.

Third, English is not the only language of science. The first Malaysian angkawasan Sheikh Muszaphar had to learn Russian before he could go into space.

Russian is often dubbed as the ‘language of space’. German is important in philosophy. Arabic is indispensable in Islamic studies. In short, the world beyond English is vast, different and diverse.

It cannot be experienced with English only, if it can be experienced with English at all.

Fourth, one of the main factors that contributed to the rise of European nations was the vernacularisation of science. Prior to that, Latin was the language of science.

Latin enabled scholars with different European mother tongues to communicate with one another, but it contributed at the same time to the exclusion of the masses from scientific discourse and, in turn, hindered the progress of science itself.

This is what the exclusive use of English can do to Malaysia today.

Fifth, there is a need to look beyond language when we discuss the importance of English in today’s world.

No matter how vital English is, the fact remains that a country progresses if its people possess some essential qualities such as a strong work ethic, honesty and social responsibility.

France is one of the most attractive countries to foreign investors, even though it takes severe measures to protect its language through its famous Toubon Law.

In conclusion, the science and maths in English policy should be scrapped once and for all. However, this is not enough.

There is a need to strengthen Malay as the national language, especially in higher education and in the private sector. Cooperation with Indonesia is crucial in this regard. Only then can Malay make sense.

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