Will BN listen to Page? Don't count on it

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YOURSAY 'Noor Azimah does not mean what she says. Page has no power to give BN a two-thirds majority. That power belongs to all voters collectively.'

PPSMI: Give us the option, we'll give you your two-thirds

your say Tkc: I propose that all members of parliament make a declaration to the auditor-general as to where their children and children's children are getting their education currently.

Any MP who refuse to make the declaration shall be deemed as admitting that their children are receiving their education overseas or in an international school in the country - with English as the medium of instruction.

To protect the privacy of their children, the MP's declaration shall be summarised into different categories with no names being mentioned.

If more than half of the MP's children get educated in English, then we should stop this double-standard and allow the 5.4 million school-going children and their parents a choice. That's all we ask for - a choice.

Josephine: Although I appreciate what Page (Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia) is doing to promote PPSMI (Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English), I don't think it is in a position to commit Malaysian parents with school-going kids to 'repay' the BN government with a two-thirds majority.

Giving our children the best education options is a fundamental right of Malaysians. After all, we don't thank the government for giving us clean air and water. This is our right.

With the kind of excesses and abuse being reported by the auditor-general, I think it is important that we continue to deny BN the two-thirds majority.

Abasir: While the rest of our neighbours continue to progress and leave us behind in all measurable aspects, we struggle with the fundamentals like education and transportation - the stuff that should have been sorted out 50 years ago.

As long as Umno remains, this constant bickering over such basic needs will continue, just as the unabated looting of taxpayer funds described in horrific detail in the Auditor-General's Report.

All the signs are there. The country is terminal. Parents with young children are to be pitied as they struggle to fight the odds stacked against them.

WhatLiesBeneath: Page chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, you have been doing excellent work up till now. Don't go getting desperate and hand over the two-thirds in Parliament over a single concession.

Many non-Malay parents have already adjusted to the inevitable and have actively developed their children's English to such an extent that it is way ahead of college students and teachers. Some of these children aren't even in school yet.

Let me say, yet again, the solution is to get rid of Umno, period.

Clearwater: Noor Azimah does not mean what she says. Page has no power to give BN a two-thirds majority. That power belongs to all voters collectively. She is desperate, and desperate people do desperate things.

If there is no more PPSMI, so what? There are other alternatives. My vote will still be with ABU - Anything But Umno - not because of the PPSMI issue but because of their gross mismanagement and corruption in this country.

Malaysian 53: Noor Azimah and Page, please remember that as long as Umno is trying to get Malay votes, do not dream of PPSMI.

With Muhyiddin Yassin and Mohd Puad Zarkashi running the Education Ministry, there is no hope for our students. Prior to these clowns, there was a master clown, Hishammuddin Hussein, doing the damage.

Dood: It is highly presumptuous for Page chairperson Noor Azimah to think she has the right to even make a statement on behalf of more than five million parents implying a deal to give Umno-BN a two-thirds majority in Parliament in exchange for the teaching of Maths and Science in English.

It's not the kind of statement someone in her position should make, unless she is outing herself as an Umno-BN supporter, in which case she shouldn't be Page chairperson.

It's not even appropriate if she is trying to make a bluff. Noor Azimah should apologise or explain herself.

Ferdtan: Noor Azimah is not fit to be the representative of all the parents who wanted to have the option of teaching of Maths and Science in English.

Her statement: "If it is political, give us the PPSMI option in national primary and secondary schools, and we will give you the two-thirds majority, which you are making increasingly difficult for us to do. Do not make us give the opposition our vote."

This statement reveals your political inclination.

Are you playing a political game with the government? And if the policy is reversed (it is the government who started the problem themselves), are you going to campaign for the government in the next election?

However, the other points Noor Azimah made are good and logical.

Kev: Noor Azimah, nobody give a hood on who you vote, but please don't speak on behalf of all the parents. We, the parents, won't stoop so low as to compromise our vote just because of one issue.

Anonymous_3hdchd: Attacks on Noor Azimah are unfair - she galvanised and organised a grassroots parents' protest from nothing.

I'm sure the political threat was a knee-jerk reaction to the disappointment of this blind decision by Muhyiddin . It should be pointed out that Page and its sister organisations are motivated largely by patriotism and a desire for a better Malaysia.

The fact remains that it is the bulk of the population (the Malays) who will continue to suffer, because the kids of Page parents will be fine - they already speak English.

Sadly, the government schools appear to be in an irreversible tailspin.

Anonymous_5fb: My view is that, Page should not use PPSMI as trade-off for the two-thirds majority. There are bigger issues than PPSMI for not voting for Umno-BN.

Education, for that matter, should not be used as political weapon. I support the continuation of PPSMI but disagree with Page with use this issue as a bargaining chip. If not, why condemn PM Najib Razak's 'You help me, I help you'?

Freemsia: The decision to abolish PPSMI is no doubt politically motivated. Everyone (including Muhyiddin) knows that English is the language of knowledge.

He fears that once the rural folks gets a strong command of English, they will be smarter and Umno will no longer be able to hoodwink them. Remember, the power to Putrajaya depends on the vote of the rural folks.

Fair Play: I wouldn't rule the possibility that the BN might play this up as an election strategy. They may give in to demonstrate to the rakyat that their interests (the rakyat's) are their top priority.

Malaysian Down Under: It is sad when a government decides to keep its people in servitude by denying them access to good education.

It is in the best interest of the government to ensure that the rakyat is not proficient in English, so they remain ‘katak di bawah tempurung'.

Heaven forbid the rakyat develops decent competence in the lingua franca of the world. As a university lecturer in Engineering, Malaysian-born, Oxford-trained, but now happily lecturing in Australia, it is sad to see the level of scientific knowledge amongst the people being continually eroded.

Just look at the books being highlighted in the media, like the book on 'seks serentak' published by the Obedient Wives Club.

The thirst for cutting-edge scientific knowledge is dying in Malaysia, and I can't help but feel that it is exacerbated by the drop in the level of proficiency in English.

It's so sad when the future of a generation is prostituted to gain political mileage.

Amirul Shah : Many students who were interviewed said that they had no problems with PPSMI.

In fact, they say that they enjoy learning Maths and Science in English because they can check out the facts instantly online. It is only Muhyiddin and Puad who have a problem with PPSMI.

Mohd Said: Our votes are not negotiable. We only give to those who listen to us. Otherwise, you're out.

 


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