By any journalistic standards, Shamsul Akmar's article in the New Straits Times on the Chinese-based Barisan Nasional parties' opposition to the use of English in the teaching of Mathematics and Science is both misinformed and distorted.

First, the opposition is clearly about the implementation method rather than an attempt to defend the rights of the Chinese community. Let's not confuse an issue of education for the future of our children with an act to reaffirm an identity of any race.

Allow me to reiterate and point to Shamsul that all parties insofar have agreed and conceded the need to address the declining standards of English proficiency and cognitive understanding of both Maths and Science subjects among our students.

However, Shamsul in his eagerness to defend the Umno-directed initiative has yet to provide any significant evidence that the use of English to teach both the subjects at an early stage will lead to better proficiency of English language or better cognitive understanding of both Maths and Science subjects.

On the contrary, several parties have raised their concerns of implementing bilingual education system too early in any (not exclusive to Chinese vernacular schools) education system as it may have an impact on students' performance on the subjects affected.

They proposed the implementation of a delayed partial immersion programme to introduce English as a medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science. This is without stunting the development of learners' mother tongues, impeding the development of their cognitive/academic abilities, promoting negative attitudes towards the first language, and inadvertently resulting in low achievement in conceptual subjects such as Mathematics and Science.

Reasons given for the proposal highlighted the need to differentiate linguistic communication ability and cognitive learning ability, social background, lack of environment to facilitate learning in a bilingual context, teaching resources and other challenges for such immediate implementation of the policy. The proposal is based on valuable lessons learned from failures and challenges of bilingual education system implemented in South Africa, California, Belgium and other countries.

Shamsul argued that the insistence of delayed partial immersion programme is baseless because children at the formative years are able to absorb things faster. His argument is consistent with the general perception. However, this is far from the truth because in a child's formative years, his mental capacity to acquire the cognitive learning ability of a particular language is still underdeveloped compared with an adult's.

Language ability of a child to communicate face-to-face must not be mistaken for his ability to acquire complex language skills in an instant. Acquiring cognitive learning skills of a language requires a good six to eight years of constant development and tutelage.

An adult also has an advantage of having acquired better learning techniques to learn a new language and to remember new symbols. Again this is a skill not acquired at a young age.

Second, Shamsul's attempt to link the opposition to the use of English to teach Maths and Science and Vision School to an act to gain political mileage for certain Chinese leaders to an extent is also baseless and misinformed.

Gerakan in its recently concluded National Delegates' Conference has reiterated its stand to support the implementation of Vision School but warned against carelessness in cultural sensitivity especially in offering of food in shared canteen.

Shamsul must also take cognizance not to exacerbate racial tension by suggesting that the Chinese-based Barisan Nasional parties are forming a coalition to exert their ethnic exclusivity and superiority of the Mandarin language.

Preserving or learning a language has no correlation to the cultural identity of a particular race since Mandarin will soon be an important trade and intellectual language with the emergence of East Asia as an economic force. I wish to also point out here that there are almost 60,000 or more non-Chinese Malaysian students currently studying in the Chinese vernacular schools.

Shamsul's numerical game to play up racial sentiment by suggesting that the "Chinese coalition" in Barisan Nasional is outnumbered by 10 to four will not help to undo the failures and mess of Umno's own education policy from Rahman Talib to Musa Mohamad which has systematically destroyed the quality of English proficiency among Malaysians.

Perhaps, he should try to answer these questions himself:

  • Who ended the "highly regarded" English-medium schools in Malaysia? and

  • Which political party in its own xenophobic inclination blocked the idea to reintroduce English-medium schools in Malaysia?

    • While I agree with Shamsul "no nation can move forward to be one when the children are subjected to different education syllabus drawn along racial lines", I also wish to add that no true unity can be achieved if we continue to play communal politics at the top. Such an act is likened to a Malay proverb " Bagai ketam mengajar anaknya berjalan lurus " (Like a crab teaching its young to walk straight).