Bahasa Champions Reject English Medium For Science And Maths Subjects.
Champions of Bahasa Melayu want mathematics and science subjects in school to be taught in the Malay language, reversing a government's decision made in 2003.
"As far as I know, only under developed countries forced or have to practice the colonial policy of teaching science subjects in a foreign language. This is because in such countries, the culture and languages of these colonised nations had been destroyed by the colonial masters," said bahasa champion Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad in his working paper at the Seventh Bahasa and Malay Literature Congress at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), here Tuesday.
The three-day congress, organised by the DBP and the Malaysian National Writers' Union (GAPENA), started last night.
Hassan who is also Yayasan Karyawan Chief Executive said developed countries like Japan, France and South Korea also taught English in their schools but they did not urge their people to use the foreign language as a tool for progress.
Former DBP Director-General said supporters of bahasa policy were not against the government's effort to make English as a second compulsory language in schools, but they were against its ideology or the risk of allowing it to dominate learning processes in the country. He said the policy of using English as the medium for science and mathematics in the country's educational system in 2003 was done "illegally" without a legislative process or a Parliament Act.
Malaysian Linguistic Association President Prof Dr Awang Sariyan in his working paper said the policy needed to be revised so that bahasa would not be obsolete as a knowledge language.
Emeritus Professor Dr Abdullah Hassan from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris also echoed Dr Awang's views saying that it was not wrong to withdraw the policy which was not legal from the legislative perspective.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah also said not all teachers, particularly those teaching in rural areas, were well versed in English and capable of using the science terms in this language. "It is a lie and a biased finding to conclude that the performances of Malay students learning science and mathematics in English are improving as their achievements in the two subjects were sliding when they were taught in Bahasa," he said.
Bahasa Interest Congress Chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in his opening speech also wanted the government to review its decision on the matter.
Johor Liaison Committee at its convention yesterday was also against the idea, claiming that teaching the two subjects in English would erode the Malay identity.
-- BERNAMA
"As far as I know, only under developed countries forced or have to practice the colonial policy of teaching science subjects in a foreign language. This is because in such countries, the culture and languages of these colonised nations had been destroyed by the colonial masters," said bahasa champion Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad in his working paper at the Seventh Bahasa and Malay Literature Congress at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), here Tuesday.
The three-day congress, organised by the DBP and the Malaysian National Writers' Union (GAPENA), started last night.
Hassan who is also Yayasan Karyawan Chief Executive said developed countries like Japan, France and South Korea also taught English in their schools but they did not urge their people to use the foreign language as a tool for progress.
Former DBP Director-General said supporters of bahasa policy were not against the government's effort to make English as a second compulsory language in schools, but they were against its ideology or the risk of allowing it to dominate learning processes in the country. He said the policy of using English as the medium for science and mathematics in the country's educational system in 2003 was done "illegally" without a legislative process or a Parliament Act.
Malaysian Linguistic Association President Prof Dr Awang Sariyan in his working paper said the policy needed to be revised so that bahasa would not be obsolete as a knowledge language.
Emeritus Professor Dr Abdullah Hassan from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris also echoed Dr Awang's views saying that it was not wrong to withdraw the policy which was not legal from the legislative perspective.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah also said not all teachers, particularly those teaching in rural areas, were well versed in English and capable of using the science terms in this language. "It is a lie and a biased finding to conclude that the performances of Malay students learning science and mathematics in English are improving as their achievements in the two subjects were sliding when they were taught in Bahasa," he said.
Bahasa Interest Congress Chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in his opening speech also wanted the government to review its decision on the matter.
Johor Liaison Committee at its convention yesterday was also against the idea, claiming that teaching the two subjects in English would erode the Malay identity.
-- BERNAMA
posted by The Malaysian. at 11/07/2006 09:48:00 PM
2 Comments:
Let the English-speaking world leave them behind to wallow in their beloved Malay culture. To think that they have not learnt their lesson from the many graduates who are unemployable due to weak English.
I'm so glad I pursued an education in Singapore.
Wonderful...And they were wondering why in the world students struggle with english and why our own "tanahair" graduates cannot speak fluently in English and hence are unable to secure jobs overseas or jobs at home with some potential internationally. Even some of our own overseas MARA and private students are at a disadvantage when they finally finish their foundation year and then go overseas and then fail because "Saya punya Inggeris tidak berapa baik".
Guess they are trying to make Bahasa Melayu as widely spoken as French. Even Japanese is not widely spoken around the world and look at the Japanese and the Koreans...even they suffer at speaking English and that surely cant help in business negotiations. Even Chinese is being widely spoken mainly because there are more than a billion and a half persons speaking it and ours not even 10 million...So much for achieving Wawasan 2020.
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