Page lampoons Fadhlina for not retracting DLP circular

In lauding some Penang schools for opposing a new directive from the Education Ministry about the Dual Language Programme (DLP), the Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page) has taken a jibe at Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek over the circular.

Page chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said Fadhlina’s failure to retract her “regretful and grave decision” to impose the new directive was “most embarrassing to her political career”.

“The parents’ wish, which is the spirit of DLP, has been blatantly ignored and quashed. The minister’s (Fadhlina) wish overrides all others,” Azimah said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Azimah praised Sarawak for asserting its autonomy with the immediate extension of the DLP to secondary schools last month.

However, she questioned how Sarawak got the budget for its DLP while Sabah and the peninsula did not receive any allocation.

“In March 2024, the Education Ministry ‘confirmed there are no plans to allocate more funds to conduct the DLP in the future’. The Education, Innovation and Talent Development Ministry of Sarawak, however, in April 2024 revealed that Sarawak had been given a budget of RM18 million for DLP.

“It appears now that Sabah and the peninsula were not budgeted for DLP and parents have been held to ransom.

“While Sarawak has capitalised on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) regarding its independence in education, Sabah has taken a more conservative stance,” she said, adding that the peninsula is now treated as a “stepchild”.

‘Fadhlina should reflect’

Citing the six basic pillars of Malaysia Madani - M (sustainability), A (prosperity), D (innovation), A (respect), N (trust), and I (care and compassion), Azimah called on Fadhlina to reflect on what has transpired during her watch as minister.

“DLP will sustain if she (Fadhlina) emulates Sarawak, shows care and compassion to our children, shows respect to parents and enhances innovation in science.

“Malaysia will gain prosperity when students are proficient in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) English and gain trust from parents that you have our children in their best interests.

“Sarawak has truly embraced and elevated Madani to a higher level, unlike Sabah and the peninsula where the education minister merely pays lip service.”

This came after 11 Chinese secondary schools in Penang opposed an Education Ministry directive requiring schools that want to implement the DLP to teach at least one class in Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia.

The schools claimed there was no demand to learn the subjects in the national language, according to a report by The Star.

As such, the schools urged the ministry to do away with the directive and maintain teaching the two subjects in English.

The group also claimed the directive ignored the will of parents and went against the original intention of the DLP, which was to better equip students in the STEM fields.

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