Decisions by the government to reschedule two significant cabinet meetings because of the Pendang and Anak Bukit by-elections have drawn the ire of DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang, who described the moves as "most irresponsible and unprofessional".

He was speaking to reporters after this morning's launch of the second phase of the "No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957" people's awareness campaign in Air Itam, Penang.

Lim said it was shocking that the special cabinet meeting on Tuesday to decide on the Education Ministry proposal to implement the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English has been postponed to Friday.

Last Wednesday's weekly cabinet meeting was brought forward by one day because it clashed with nomination day for the by-elections.

"Why should the presence of the cabinet ministers at the Pendang and Anak Bukit by-election nominations last Wednesday be so important that the weekly cabinet meeting had to be changed?" he asked.

"Now that there is a three-day extension of the special cabinet meeting on the usage of English in schools, Education Minister Musa Mohamad should make public the proposal of the Abdul Rafie committee so that there can be feedback that should be beneficial for the meeting."

Systematic programme needed

He said this was important as pertinent questions had been asked about the competence and qualifications of the cabinet to decide on the issue, as many of the same ministers "are responsible for the current mess in the education system including the deplorable drop in the standard of English, (thereby) undermining national competitiveness".

Lim said the cabinet should adopt a national policy to enhance the standard of English, not only in schools but also among Malaysians in general. This should include approval of such initiatives as the Selangor government's "English Day" on Thursdays.

"The standards of English did not decline overnight so improvements in the command of English cannot be achieved overnight," he said, adding that there must be sufficient preparation and supporting infrastructure.

"What the cabinet should decide next week is to make it compulsory for students to pass English in all public examinations, and then work backwards to raise the standard of English among primary and secondary students through a systematic and well-planned programme."

He also said recent "conflicting and confusing" statements by educators and planners would not inspire confidence that the public could look forward to an end to "the long running crisis in the education system, which seems to be compounded with each change of education minister".

Blueprint still not available

The 10-year Education Development Blueprint (2001-2010), which Musa announced last October, made no reference and had no recommendation on arresting the drop in the standard of English in schools.

Lim claimed that his office had requested a copy of the blueprint two weeks ago, but that the ministry had yet to respond to this. The document is not available on the ministry web site either, although public feedback has been solicited.

DAP, meanwhile, has decided to draft a 10-year Education Master Plan (2003-2013) for an education system that would assist Malaysians to face the challenges of globalisation, liberalisation, and information and communications technology.