Dear Mr Prime Minister,

Is PPSMI now an election tool to win votes?

Like many parents, I was elated when you and your deputy announced recently that the government is looking into the possibility of teaching Science and mathematics in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.

This however quickly turned into despair when we hear no further news or announcement from either the Education Ministry or the weekly cabinet meeting.

Mainstream newspapers that were giving it prominent coverage for a few days are now conspicuously ignoring the issue.

What little hope we had was totally doused when NTV7 news reported on May 7 that Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong had asked parents not to make use of parent-teachers associations to challenge the decision of PPSMI when the cabinet has already decided to implement MBMMBI.

Looking back at the issue, it's clear there was no proper body to fight for or defend PPSMI prior to it being abolished.

Page was quickly set up by a group of caring patriotic parents and despite it being an infant, has done a tremendously good job of poking numerous holes into arguments and debunked most of the facts, especially on TIMSS that were relied on by both MoE and anti-PPSMI groups.

Many good and valid reasons in support of PPSMI were put forward by Page since then. Parents and numerous professional and trade bodies have since publicly applauded and supported Page's effort.

The days of parenting by using the cane is long over, with the phrase "children are to be seen, not heard" probably alien to youths of this generation.

Likewise, the government of today is expected to engage, explain and accommodate as much as possible the people's desire, so long as such requests are within the ambit of the laws.

Bulldozing of government's view although bereft of supporting facts is regularly done by a number of your cabinet members who think that only they are right. In these days of internet and wikileaks, such wayward ways of shoving decisions are simply not acceptable anymore.

The rakyat want their voices and opinions heard as can be seen in many online blog comments.

Even our tiny but fabulously rich neighbour down south recently encountered similar public expressions of disdain.

PAP quickly learned that despite managing their country well, with its people enjoying wealth, peace and security, their popular votes are down to its lowest.

Could this simply be because their citizens, like those few other countries, felt they have been totally ignored with little say on most issues?

As the PM of our country, we expect you to lead, make quick, firm and fair decisions by gathering feedback from relevant stakeholders. A clear instruction to the Education Ministry to immediately look into this would be the right thing to do.

A good leader with the rakyat's well being at heart should not tolerate any little Napoleons who decides otherwise, more so with their own selfish motives.

Lastly, any further mention of PPSMI without an accompanying concrete instruction or decision, especially if made just before the next general election would lend credence to the generally perceived thought that PPSMI was and is now merely being used to fish for votes.

It might just confirm what many of us DID NOT want to believe - that Sarawak state election was indeed the motive for your sudden feel-good news then.

The rakyat are not prepared to accept candies and sweets anymore.

I am writing this very frank and open appeal to you on behalf of my nine-year-old son who is feeling very disheartened having to undergo a mid-stream switch next year.