The policy to teach Maths and Science in English (PPSMI) will cause the Malay to lose their cultural identity, warned an Islamic pressure group.

“The Malays are increasingly losing their ‘Malayness’,” said Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM) president Muhamad Aliemran Norasid in a statement condemning the implementation of PPSMI in the past.

anti english language ppsmi a million post card campaign 200509 “Bahasa Melayu is turned into ‘ rojak ’ and has become ‘ bahasa pasar ’.

“It is certainly shocking to see how some people try to act like ‘ mat salleh ’ especially through the improper and colloquial use of the national language,” he said.

“If this is allowed to continue, it will not be surprising if in future we completely lose our identity as Malays,” he added.

Arguing against reintroducing PPSMI, he said its introduction in 2002 was implemented “without proper planning and in a rushed manner”.

However, he quickly added that even if it was done properly, the group still rejects PPSMI.

PPSMI was introduced in 2003 during the Mahathir Mohamad-era and was implemented into the education system the following year. The objective of the policy was to improve the English language command amongst students in primary and secondary level through the teaching of subjects such as Math and Science with English as the medium of instruction.

The policy had since garnered support as well as criticism especially from the Gerakan Mansuhkan PPSMI, which is a coalition of 40 NGOs headed by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP).

The policy was shelved in 2012 following talk of reinstating Bahasa Melayu as the medium of instruction for the two subjects in 2009, and it is rumoured it will be re-implemented in the future.

Muhamad Aliemran continued to condemn the policy, saying students who have poor command in English will lose interest in subjects such as Maths and Science due to a lack of understanding of the syllabus.

He cited then-higher education minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin as saying that results in Science and Maths were deteriorating to a critical level as proof of his argument that PPSMI is undesirable.

Implementation slammed

He also criticised the inefficient implementation and execution of the policy which was implemented just a year after its introduction, citing many teachers who had not received proper training had even given up their jobs due to the inability to teach in English.

Proficiency in English does not guarantee a high standard education system, claimed Muhamad Aliemran.

He also drew reference to nations such as France, Japan and Thailand which use their own respective national language as the medium of instruction in their education system.

“Countries such as Switzerland and Belgium give more importance to their national languages and still manage to be multi-lingual and fluent in English,” he said.

He also cited the 1974 Unesco report which states that the degree of progress of a country’s education system can only be measured if its native language is used as a medium of instruction.