I read with some incredulity that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad surmised that the approximately 7,000 Malaysian students studying in Singapore was proof that a substantial number of Chinese (and possibly Indian) parents support the government's move to teach Science and Mathematics in English. His assumption is far-fetched, and that is putting it mildly.

Having been part of the Singapore education system, I hope I can speak on this issue with some credibility. The students Mahathir referred to are possibly those who commute daily from Johor Baru. Will offering Mathematics and Science in English be enough to attract these students back to JB schools or to prevent others from going to Singapore in future?

Could there be other factors, other than the education in English, that make students trek to and from Singapore?

First of all, I'd like to propose that these students (and their parents) find Singapore schools attractive and worth the daily trudge (two hours each way) because of the higher standards of education there. By implication, this means that the standards of Malaysian national-type schools need to be vastly improved to draw these students back.

My guess is that these students are dispersed over a variety of schools in Singapore, not concentrated in a few 'elite' schools there. My assumption is based on my own experience in one of these so-called 'elite' or SAP schools where there were few Malaysians who commute daily to study there although there were quite a few studying under the Asean scholarship programme or permanent resident status.

This shows that we have to benchmark the standard of the average schools in Singapore against the average Malaysian schools, and not the 'elite' ones.

Thus, the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English without the corresponding assurances that teachers will be adequately trained and that facilities and infrastructure will be improved, may not be enough to draw these students back to Malaysia.

Indeed, there is now the danger of driving more students across the causeway if the government enforced the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English for Chinese primary schools here. Parents, worried about the drop in standard, may be tempted to send their children (even at the primary level) to schools in Singapore.

Furthermore, the politicisation of education policies in Malaysia is another impediment compared to Singapore which has an impressive record of well-thought out and well-researched education policies. One might conjecture that some parents see the current debate over the English issue as yet another justification for them to send their kids to study in Singapore.

I have great admiration for Mahathir for his intellect, his doggedness and determination in the face of adversity and how far-forward he has brought Malaysia. But his statements and handling of the latest education policy change show he is misguided on this issue.