Malaysia - A responsive turn that all sensible Malaysians want

The Government's decision to maintain the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English for pupils who started with it is a welcome response to the anxieties of schoolchildren and their parents.

The smiles of the children and the relief of the parents provide ample proof of the popularity of the decision.

As far as the people's wishes are concerned, the arguments for maintaining the status quo clearly outweigh any arguments to the contrary.

When former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad introduced the policy in 2003, the purposes seemed clear enough.

The importance of English was, and remains, unassailable in a globalising world particularly for countries keen to develop rapidly.

But some schools, particularly those in rural localities, might be challenged by a lack of English teaching capacity.

So, English would be used only in Mathematics and Science: the minimal use of English in Mathematics placed fewer demands on teachers and pupils, and the universal use of English in Science would facilitate further studies in scientific fields.

Since then, however, those motives became obscured for some policymakers even when they remained crystal clear to all sensible Malaysians.

The pupils' well-being, parental choice and national interest may clamour for policy favour all at once, but this is really no problem at all.

All of these actually converge as one: they are united in wanting the teaching of these subjects in English to continue.

The Government has now decoded the writing on the wall, and this "soft landing" is Part One of a people-friendly response.

Part Two would come later when the question of whether to retain the policy re-emerges.

Whatever the English teaching capacity of schools today, it should be better than it was in 2003.

And in a few more years, it should be even better than now.

Teachers may need to work a bit harder, but hard work should be a virtue. Rural schoolchildren in particular would be better prepared for life in the wider world with a better grasp of English.

Such policy decisions concern the future of young Malaysians and our country's prospects in the world.

They are far more important than the self-interests of those too lazy to meet a challenge, or the sensitive egos of a few policymakers anxious to look "original" through policy changes.

News Desk

The Star

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