The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page) said the national language can be safeguarded even with the reintroduction of English medium schools.

"To ensure that the Malay language is not relegated, insist that students who enrol in English-medium schools first attain the national average score for Bahasa Malaysia," said Page chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim.

Noor Azimah said such schools were necessary to produce highly-skilled English language teachers, the services of whom are desperately needed.

"We have to accept the fact that Malay-medium schools do not produce the best English language teachers.

"Our past expenditure on the native speaker programmes has been expensive, although effective, it is unsustainable," she said.

She was responding to a survey published by Singapore's Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute which found a majority of Johoreans, or 82 percent of the 2,011 respondents, supported bringing back English-medium schools.

Noor Azimah noted that teachers in Johor, including English language teachers, were of high calibre.

“If the Johor State Education Department is focused on delivering an English-medium school in every district, this is quite feasible," she said in a statement.

Noor Azimah added that students graduating from English-medium schools will be able to pursue their tertiary education in the United Kingdom.

"Arrangements should be made where these undergraduates live among native speakers or among second or third generation Muslim families (in the UK), who will surely welcome them into their homes if food is a problem.

“In this way, immersion is guaranteed," she said.

Upon their return to Malaysia, Noor Azimah stated, these students can be contracted as English teachers for an agreed period.

She added that Johor, Sabah and Sarawak can spearhead this effort.

"Focus on the states with zero resistance, while the other states that have been silent, indifferent or even downright hostile (to the reintroduction of English-medium schools) can turn green with envy," she said.