Two non-governmental organisations in support of Tamil education today launched a booklet in Kuala Lumpur to show that the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English may have some benefits but the drawbacks for the poor are overwhelming.

Published by the Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) and Malaysian Tamil Educational Research and Development Foundation (MTERDF), the 22-page document entitled 'The Cry' explained in detail the implications of the government's move to teach the two subjects in English on the poor.

GCC representative K Arumugam, who spoke on the reflections and overview of the book, said the group was driven to do something concrete, not so much because of their love for the language, but more for poor children, who will become direct victims of the government's controversial move.

Arumugam, who teaches poor children under an NGO called Children Information and Learning Development Centre, challenged the government to prove that the policy will not undermine the poor and add more social ills to the Indian Malaysian community.

Repressive laws

Arumugam, who spoke to about 80-odd participants at the event, criticised the government's audacity to speak about equality when Tamil schools are totally lacking in funding and allocation as they are mostly supported by the community.

He said the government has eroded almost every right by imposing repressive laws from free speech, freedom of the press, assembly now it wants to take away the people's right to education.

The group's public opposition to the language switch has overturned the perception by many quarters that only Chinese educationist groups are rejecting the government's move.

Two Chinese educationist movements United Chinese School Teachers Association Malaysia (Dong Zong) and the United Chinese School Committees Association Malaysia (Jiao Zong) collectively known as Dong Jiao Zong, have been vehemently attacked by various quarters for their stand.

Government ministers, including Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the mainstream media like Malay dailies Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian have joined in the fray to label the movement as "extremist and chauvinist".

More social ills

State-run Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) recently aired a five-minute segment entitled 'Bahaya Cauvinisme' (Dangers of chauvinism) during prime-time news on its two channels which portrayed the movement as "anti-Malay, anti-national and unpatriotic".

Meanwhile, another GCC spokesperson, Charles Santiago ( right ) said the group's social impact assessment of the new educational strategy will lead to "exacerbation of poverty, creation of a higher drop-out rate in the school system, worsening of social ills and intensification of the unequal distribution of wealth within the community and various ethnic groups".

To justify his claims, Charles highlighted a study undertaken by MIC's research wing Yayasan Strategik Sosial which indicated that Tamil school children, from similar class and economic background, outperformed their counterparts in national-type schools, in Science and Maths.

"Clearly the move by the government has the real potential of further marginalising the Tamil Indian Malaysian community," said Charles, who is GCC coordinator.

"Research done by YSS clearly indicates that children in their formative years learn and acquire knowledge best in their mother tongue, a phenomenon acknowledged by leading educationists and the United Nations," he added.

Defend DJZ's right

Meanwhile, MTERDF representative M Manogaran defended DJZ's right to protect mother tongue language of their community.

He slammed the government for its inability to provide further education and jobs to citizens who dropped out of schools.

He criticised ministers, especially MIC president S Samy Vellu and People Progressive Party president M Kayveas, whom he accused of merely "toeing the line" and following Mahathir's instruction blindly.

"Is it correct for politicians to make decisions for education? Why can't we allow the educationists to decide what is best for education? Most of them have said that Science and Maths are conceptual subjects and are better taught in mother tongue," he said.

CM Elantamil from the Academy of Tamil Studies highlighted the glory of the Tamil language which paved the way to a great Hindu civilisation almost 3,000 years ago.

Mother-child analogy

Elantamil stressed that for Tamil school children, it is "Tamil education or no education at all" and that the language is not only poetic, it is scientific and mathematical as well.

He used a mother-child analogy to explain the use of English to teach Science and Maths to Tamil-educated children. "When a mother wants to convince her child to eat, she will point to the moon, but the child will look at the mother's face instead of the moon".

"So it is with the teaching of Science and Maths, instead of studying the two subjects, children will study English," he said.

Also present to lend their support were Jiao Zong vice-chairperson Loot Ting Yee, DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang, PRM vice president R Sivarasa and Keadilan supreme council member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar.