Several Indian Malaysian social groups today responded differently to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's announcement this week that all primary schools, including Tamil schools, will use English to teach Mathematics and Science next year.

The Malaysian Tamil Education and Research Foundation (MTERF), which has vehemently opposed the move, said it planned to organise mass gatherings, distribute leaflets, and send Deepavali cards to rally for support next month.

"The public has been hoodwinked on the issue. What is disturbing is that the government said it would listen to our views but at the same time preparations were already underway for the shift to English.

"We went there sincerely [for a series of meetings] but now we know they were just repeating the same old trick. They were not serious about listening to us in the first place," said MTERF pro tem president M Manogar.

He stressed that the organisation supported the government's plan to improve English among students but "not at the expense of the poor Tamil school children's welfare".