An Umno leader at a Transformasi Nasional 50 (TN50) dialogue on English proficiency last night expressed support for the revival of English-medium schools in Malaysia.

Umno Youth deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun, who responded to an audience member during the event held at RUANG Subang Jaya, said he is however personally unsure whether the current policy allows for such schools to be set-up.

"I have heard it (the suggestion) before. Personally I support the initiative to have more English medium schools

"But I don't know if the current policy will allow for this or whether there need to be some policy adjustments," he said to the suggestion made by Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim.

Azimah earlier said that issues raised throughout the session organised by education group Teach For Malaysia appears to indicate a failure of the system in teaching English to the children.

"So what is the solution?

"Could it be that we should revisit the idea of creating English medium schools?," she said in pointing out that the proposal in the past had attracted backlash from groups that viewed English proficiency as a threat to national identity.

"Why can't we be objective about it?

"We have to come back and bring back English to the level it was before," she stressed.

As the country embarks on a national transformation programme, Noor Azimah also said a revival of English-medium schools could at least ensure that it would produce English teachers needed to teach future generations.

According to a research by the International School Consultancy (ISC), Malaysia has the highest number of children attending English-medium international schools among South East Asian countries, indicating a popular demand for English education.

Last month, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan had also reportedly proposed that English-medium government schools in Sabah be re-established, as a proactive measure to produce more human capital from the state.