I refer to the Malaysiakini report PM: No shift in vernacular school policy yet .

Thank you for opening this discussion, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. I am for the ‘one school’ system. My recommendations for a ‘1School’ system are as follows:

1. Education system overhaul, go back to our roots for a world-class education system – it should comprise of a proven curriculum ie, British education system with local adaptation, the ‘glocal’ version. Following the British curriculum coupled with compulsory:

a. Bahasa Malaysia (beginner, advanced, literature, culture plus all BM activities at school),

b. Religion (Agama Islam, Bible Knowledge, moral studies etc)

c. Other languages (Mandarin, Tamil, Arab etc.)

d. Elective (s) – Perhaps one or two free electives comprising of subjects that may be taught at the vernacular/religious schools.

2. Teacher training system overhaul - to raise profile of the profession of teachers. Free tertiary education for this profession, open to all Malaysians. Teacher training should be a UK twinning programme with study completion time of 75% in Malaysia and 25% in the UK.

It would be great to bring back the calibre of good teachers with open minds and a great command of English. I was fortunate enough to be under the national curriculum in the 80s and to be taught by a few teachers who graduated from the Kirkby College.

3. Policymakers – set up an education directorate for research, planning, implementing plus continuous improvement in education with the various stakeholders, (ie, qualified education experts in the civil service, teachers, parents, students) empowered to be decision-makers for the education policy in this country.

The objective of any decision should be for the betterment of national education and for the acquiring of knowledge. Education ministers come and go, but the policies must stay true to the objective. The foundation of our nation’s progress depends on this.

BM would not and should not be threatened or placed in jeopardy by this system. It would be relevant and important for unity, integration, preserving our history, arts and culture. I'd like to think that ‘BM darah dagingku, Bahasa Inggeris, pedangku.’

Perhaps this is a tall order for a plan that should be attained in the near future but all is not lost if we make noise and bring to light the disastrous state of education and race isolation in this country.

Reform education we must for the sake of this country’s future. Time ticks while precious minds wither. It is my hope that the media will come together and play a bigger role in pushing for a better education system.

We should have maintained the teaching of science and maths in English as it is a step towards the right direction. I am pressing the panic button as a mother of schoolgoing children. The future is bleak should we continue as we are.