Teras Pengupayaan Melayu (Teras) rejects the call for the reinstatement of the Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English Policy (PPSMI) as made by the Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) President Azwanddin Hamzah.
His statement, based on the study JMM conducted on 33 schools with 15,000 respondents, cannot be a basis for the government to heed the call.
The alleged study claiming that more than 50 percent supported the policy, thus thereby leading to the re-introduction of PPSMI, was not backed by arguments from experts of the Bahasa Malaysia (BM) language on why the proficiency of English amongst students is low.
The study has only relied on empirical data and not on a thorough analysis on the teaching of the language itself.
His pointing of certain quarters politicising the issue into a polemic and stirring emotions for personal and political gain is unwarranted.
Does he not know that the number of intellectuals and academicians who supported the movement to abolish the PPSMI policy are individuals with high credibility and academic credentials?
On what basis is he to downplay the arguments pointed by them in their rejection of the policy, through their in-depth analysis of the effects of PPSMI on the development of BM as a medium of knowledge advancement.
JMM's accusation smacks of ignorance, arrogance and disrespect towards people who are experts in the field of language teaching.
Raw data and the simplistic conclusion that PPSMI should be continued is not an approach for any policy change.
Unless JMM is foolhardy enough to embrace that whatever English is perceived as globally competitive and the only answer for nation building, Teras calls on the JMM to state its stand clearly.
JMM cannot screen itself by portraying itself as being objective on this issue but in fact having an underlying notion of the superiority of English over Bahasa.
The main issue is not about elevating the nation's human capital in allowing the people to compete in the age of globalisation with a command of English but rather why is JMM is being so timid in admitting that BM is equal to, if not more superior to English, in molding our nation building agenda.
Why is the obsession that we should be at par with developed countries, be the driving motivation for nation building.
On whose yardstick are we measuring our success or otherwise?
The president of JMM stated that the parties involved in rejecting PPSMI as being hypocritical and not thinking of the best future for their children and he believed in the superiority of English in securing jobs for the future.
Who is he to state that such is the case.
The basic issue is about the pedagogical weakness in the present way of teaching English and not about the teaching mathematics and science in English.
The ignorance of JMM in treating this issue is regretful. We propose that JMM meet language experts rather being simplistic about the acceptance or rejection of PPSMI.
We call on the government not to revert back its decision to abolish PPSMI as of 2012.
The unprecedented mass rally that proceeded in protesting the PPSMI on July 7th 2009 is a good enough measure of sentiment that the majority of the people in the country rejects PPSMI.
If the government reverses its decision, then the education policy which is vital in building this nation base is just mere rhetoric and the people will make their objections visible again.
Mod Azmi Abdul Hamid is the president of Teras.
