The decision of the Malaysian Examination Syndicate to postpone English as a must-pass subject is a step backward.

It will hamper the multi-prong effort to improve the marketability of graduates.

We all know that many graduates simply have poor English.

They are fated to work as low-paid and poorly-tutored graduates because of their poor command of English.

These decision is very regrettable because you ate condemning a whole generation of students.

You have to bite the bullet and not get cold feet.

Many groups have been lobbying for years to improve English and because of pressure from these groups, the Education Ministry finally decided to make English compulsory.

But the same ministry had reversed that decision.

It is indeed very sad and depressing.

The real reason is due to pressure from the Malay-only lobby which has a stranglehold on our education policy.

We are a multi-ethnic society and therefore our education policy should be multi-ethnic, allowing for any language as a medium of instruction.

The decision to make English compulsory is good but it has been set back by decision-makers who have given in to the Malay-only lobby group.

C SIVARRAAJH is MIC Youth leader.