Gerakan deputy president Dr Koh Tsu Koon was accused of saying too much in calling for the teaching of Mathematics and Science to revert to the mother-language. Now he is being taken to task for saying nothing at all.

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang questioned Koh's silence in the wake of remarks that earned him a tongue-lashing from former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Lim said Koh has allowed Mahathir and Khairy to brow-beat him, thereby making it appear that Koh's theory on mother-tongue education has been debunked.

"It will be a great disservice to education as well as nation-building if Koh's silence is taken as a confirmation that calls for a review of the use of English to teach mathematics and science ... are purely chauvinistic and have no educational basis whatsoever," he said in a statement today.

"I am prepared to help Koh with all the expert studies, educational arguments and research evidence as to why it is educationally unsound ... and that there are more effective ways."

Koh, who is also Penang chief minister, has long championed for mother-tongue teaching of science and mathematics in primary schools.

Last week, Malay daily Utusan Malaysia quoted Khairy as warning Gerakan to stop challenging the Barisan Nasional (BN) government policy on the issue so as to prevent confusion among the people.

"Gerakan is a component party of the BN government... I think it's extraordinary the government or its policies is not supported by one of its own component parties," he said.

A day earlier, Mahathir had been prompted to ask "whether there was an element of chauvinism" in Koh's call for a review of the use of English to teach science and mathematics in Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

All in the medium

It did not help Koh's case when a 12-year-old Malay girl topped her Chinese school in the UPSR (primary school leaving) examination, the results of which were released last Thursday.

Noorzaini Nordiana Mohd Noor of SJK (C) Chung Hwa in Jitra, Kedah, scored 7As.

Koh's "no comment" to queries about Noorzaini's achievements has not helped the cause of restoring mother-tongue teaching of science and mathematics, commented Lim.

Lim said the fact that Norzaini's mother-tongue is not Chinese does not detract from the argument that mathematics and science is best taught in one's mother-tongue because the key factor lies in the medium of instruction in the early years of primary education.

"Noorzaini' s excellent UPSR results in obtaining 7As, including in science and mathematics, is commendable. (However) Her medium of instruction was Chinese for her six years of primary education," he pointed out.

On another matter, Lim urged the cabinet to suspend and review plans announced last Friday to reserve five percent of undergraduate places in public universities for foreigners.

It is unfair to allocate so many places for foreigners when every year the "best and brightest" of non-Malay Malaysian students are denied places, he said.

He also suggested that five percent allocation be made for 'non-critical' courses.

"Suspend any implementation next year and direct (Education Minister) Shafie (Mohd Salleh) to get feedback from the public, including submitting the proposal to Parliament for a full debate," he added.