During the second half of this year, one topic has been hotly, widely and intensely discussed in Malaysia by people from all walks of life. Yes, it is the decision whether to continue teaching Mathematics and Science in English or to revert back to teaching the subjects in Bahasa Melayu in our schools.

Surprisingly, the majority of Malaysians who expressed their views through the media, strongly favour these two subjects being taught in English. The stereotype reason is that it would improve the students’ command of English, thus make them more competitive in the job market.

I absolutely agree with the above statement, and also agree with those who say that the strong foundation in English would also give them self confidence and self respect. This is quite common in the developing countries like ours.

There are many graduates out there who are shy and hesitate to communicate with others especially with those from other ethnic groups.

I quite disagree with the majority of those who discussed the issue by linking Mathematics and Science together. I would prefer to discuss them separately as they need not be treated similarly.

Let us first look at Mathematics. It is a subject which involve more figures and the treatment of figures. The command of English needed here is quite basic. Therefore, it is not taxing for the students to study Mathematics in English right from the primary school level.

However, it should not be misconstrued that the students would not improve their English by doing Mathematics.

On the other hand, Science is a mostly theoretical subject which needs descriptions and understanding of certain terminologies. Thus, a reasonabe foundation in English vocabulary and knowledge of the so called ‘bombastic’ words are needed. This means that it would burden primary school students.

Having considered the above, my verdict is: teach Mathematics in English right from primary school. However, Science is safer to be taught from secondary school.