Republic of virtue, 3/09

Master the English language, celebrate the beauty of others

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Sunday, 08 March 2009 13:06

Imagine how the classroom, although confined by the four walls, is a world in itself in which children learn to construct the meaning of the world they live in. Imagine, like the ex-Beatle John Lennon once said, “… a brotherhood of Man”. Azly Rahman ( dr.azly.rahman@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/ Although Bahasa Melayu is enshrined in the Constitution as the official language and there is a protest going on against the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English, we must not send the wrong message that the lingua franca is to be shunned.Malaysians must master the English language and being competent in it should not be a problem -- the language is everywhere. Too much emotions is being stirred to rally the masses against this language of egalitarianism. Sending the wrong message to the kampong kids will mean that they and their teachers will never see the importance of English. Come back to our senses. Why not improve the teaching of English in all schools instead. Even in our local universities, college students are not yet proficient in the language enough to get them through interviews. ---------------------------------------------- Sometime ago I wrote these: Celebrate our language differences by Azly Rahman I have been reflecting upon the language problematique as it relates to the debate on Malaysian vernacular schools. I arrived at a few thoughts. Like the difference between truth with a small ‘t’ and truth with a capital T, the same goes with ‘culture’ and ‘Culture’. Frequently, dialogues on Malaysian culture revolve around our attempt to move from the small to the big ‘c’. We argue endlessly over which Malaysian culture is more superior or which should be made official, or whose language should form the basis of our educational policy, or even whether it is suitable to officially have interfaith dialogue (a form of dialogue rooted in language and culture). When I was in Sekolah Temenggong Abdul Rahman primary school in Johor Bahru, there were mantras in the still unsophisticated media that conditioned us to value the beauty of cultures. Two of that I can still remember are Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa and Muhibbah. If I recall, part of the lyrics of Muhibbah goes like this: Muhibbah, muhibbah Itu lah amalan kita semuaMuhibbah, muhibbah, Sejak sedari zaman purba kala Tunaikan lah ikrar Satu nusa satu bangsa merdeka Satu …[can’t remember this] … satu suara Dalam Malaysia jaya What revolutionary lyrics on the need to homogenise the nation! As a child roaming around my kampong in my worn-out Japanese slippers, I would hum the lyrics. It was like a mantra. What a powerful mind conditioner! In that song, I think the most revolutionary claim was that national unity has existed since time immemorial (sejak zaman purba kala) Many decades later, every time I teach Foundations of Western Civilisation and delve into the discussion of the civilisations of the Ancients - the Sumerians, the Greeks, the Romans among these - I contemplate not only on the ethical and peaceful themes that exist in those civilisations despite their warmongering tendencies, but also engage my students in the discussion of cultural synthesis in the ‘globalisd’ ancient world. For some time in the past, my research interest wason the kingdom of Srivijaya and the transcultural flow of the Hindu-Buddhist doctrine of work, play, and worship amongst the cultures of Southeast Asia. How interesting to note that words like anugeraha, dosa, pahala, durjana, sembahyang, puja, mentera, takhta, singahsana, putra, jaya, warna, panca indera, budhi, bakhti, dharma, ashrama, shakti, sengsara, pujangga, seloka, tapa and many others the Malays use to define themselves spiritually and to describe practices of self-discipline are borrowed from the Hindu-Buddhist tradition. These were borrowed through the transmission of the texts of the ancient Javanese traditions that are transmitted through the oral tradition of among others, the indigenised plays of Ramayana and Mahabharatha. How beautiful are the cultures! How equally beautiful if we were preserve them through the celebration of human languages. How important the role of schooling and education in the building of the ethical foundations of civilisation. What would our world be like if all our teachers take the effort to understand how important the first language is to the child in his/her early years of school? What would it be like to celebrate the child’s gift of language and to continue to help him/her develop it so that the child’s interest may be further sparked to learn other languages? It is equally important for our politicians to also send this message of celebration so that we may design schools around this idea of multi-vocalities. Culture and imagination Imagine a scenario in Malaysian classrooms where primary school children learn the meaning of the word ‘peace’ and muhibbah in many different languages: Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa Jawa, Siam, Bugis, Bawean, Bangladeshi, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Tamil, Urdu, Tagalog, Hebrew, Arabic, Senoi, Jakun, Iban, and Kadazan-dusun. Imagine the children, in weekly language word-study circles, explaining to each other the meaning of the word in their own language. Imagine the children learning Language Arts and Social Studies exploring the interdisciplinary theme of the language they use at home. Imagine them translating proverbs from their native language into English, and next illustrating them and next doing class presentations. Imagine at the end of the year, the children and their parents proudly dressed up in their cultural outfits, singing songs in their native language without being laughed at, sharing food - in a cultural celebration night. Imagine secondary school students doing their final school project on the meaning of their cultural practices and the relationship to their ethical belief system and how each may teach them to profess universal values of peace and social justice among different races. Imagine all of them doing a project that analyses the themes of famous cross-cultural movies and using this vehicle to learn the concepts of cultural preservation and continuity. Imagine, at the community college and university level, when theyhave had enough exposure and appreciation to linguistic and cultural diversity, Malaysians forming cross-cultural dialogues clubs, engaging in multiple literacies and multiple voices fora, interfaith circles of learning, transcultural network of friends and other innovations in multi-cultural social imaginations - so that we may not need communalism anymore as a basis for our national political design. Imagine, we then have graduate students forming something called ‘Malaysian Transcultural Social Democratic Futuristics’ political study groups to dismantle all existing parties that have served their time. What an exploration in a newer human design we may embark upon to create a society based on a transcultural radical-multiculturalist utopianism. It would be a good experiment we may embark upon for the next 50 years so that we may redefine the meaning of ‘progress and development’, rethink the solution to corruption, and reconfigure the existing and incoming newer Malaysians. But let us go back to the present Malaysian classroom. Imagine how the classroom, although confined by the four walls, is a world in itself in which children learn to construct the meaning of the world they live in. Imagine, like the ex-Beatle John Lennon once said, “… a brotherhood of Man”. Like Lennon, I do not think we are all dreamers. I do not think we’re the only ones. This is the day we ought to start joining this dialogue to start thinking of the enabling dimensions of our culture. We have been waiting at the crossroad of this debate too long that we have not been able to do the ‘border-crossing’. Our politicians have been giving us the wrong interpretation of what language, culture, and human liberation actually means. Even our most progressive educators have fallen prey to these shackling arguments that have chained us to the ‘stop’ sign of the crossing that will bring us to this world of imagination and possibilities. Our politicians are not linguists. We must learn to explore and develop our interest in other languages to make our world a more creative and more enriched place, culturally and linguistically. Malaysia is the such fertile area of such exploration. Cultural trap Our current squabble over what official language to use in primary schools has philosophical solutions. We think it is a political problem with political solutions. We are wrong. We are looking at it the wrong way. Albert Einstein once said the problem cannot be solved if it originates from the same plane from which it arises. We have to find the light at the end of the tunnel. We have to rethink what cultural dominance mean. Can one value be allowed to define other values? Can one culture be allowed to dominate? There is no dominance of one value over others; if one feels that there ought to be, then the definition must be an arrogant and outdated one. Cultural absolutism itself is subjective; all cultures want to define their culture as the absolute - the absolute truth. This has been the problem of humanity since time immemorial; sejak zaman purba kala. To acknowledge one's culture as being superior to others' is like acknowledging that one's race is superior to others. There is no biological basis to racial superiority. Race/culture is a construct; it exists in the mind. Race can translate into social domination. Cultural relativism is currently being rigorously explored the world over through disciplines such as Ethnic and Multi-cultural Studies. This is a promising field that might reduce bigotry based on race, religion or skin colour. Relativism simply means there is no absolute. It is time we embrace this notion that things are relative. We may even open up minds to exploring transcultural philosophies and have less fights over which race is more intelligent that the other. Let me propose the following notion of language and culture. Language is culture is philosophy is reality is the totality of one’s existence shaped by the economic conditions that are shaped by dominant others. As makers of our own history and masters of our own destiny, with the aid of divine intervention, we ought to learn how to explore the inter-relationship between power and language.As existential beings we are going through, as stated by Harvard psychologist Robert Kegan, stages of “evolving selfs”. We ought to ask: in what way is language used to indoctrinate and oppress us and in what way must we continue to be aware of this and remain conscious and free? As thinking, feeling, and dignified beings in this sea of humanity, how do we recognise whose language is trying to colonise and oppress ours? How is structural, or unseen violence, defining the way we communicate? As ‘novice linguistic archaeologists’, how do we excavate language in its cultural field so that we may then discover the ‘ethics of authenticity’ and ultimately stand in awe facing the core of its philosophy? These are tough questions. Let me illustrate the beauty of this archaeological exploration. Imagine our university students, in a class called ‘Cross-Cultural Perspectives’ exploring the grand narratives of the major cultural traditions to understand how language and culture flows. Cultural flow To celebrate and help preserve the diversity of languages, we need to first understand how language and culture get transmitted. I present an ‘Essentialist’ perspective; one that sees culture being passed down from one generation to the next. According to this perspective, the core culture would remain intact, passed down as highly coded information. The level of creativity in interpretation of the values of the core elements may be guarded by the senior members of the society in order for cultural tradition to remain preserved. The major texts are called grand narratives. Let us further illustrate what grand narratives are used for. The cultural flow and the transmission of traditions might be in the case of the teachings of the great books of world’s religious and philosophical traditions such as Ramayana, Mahabharatha, the Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita to the Hindus, the I Ching, Tao Te Ching, and the Analects from Chinese philosophers to generations of Chinese, or the Al Quran and the Hadith and Al Ghazalli’s Ihya al-Ulumuddin, or the Granth Sahib, or the Lotus Sutras, or the Old and New Testament passed down to Christians. All these represent knowledge/information designed to be passed down from generation to generation through a variety of media such as parables, drama, music, shadow plays, Japanese kabuki theatre and Noh drama. Although the grand narratives above contain universal messages of human liberation, they ‘speak’ originally to distinct cultural groups. In the texts transmitted, the antagonists and protagonists, the crisis, conflict, climax, conclusions and moral lessons utilise specific cultural settings within their respective milieu. Thus for example the Hindu texts are rich in magnificent imagery of ancient India, the Chinese grand narratives are written with pastoral ancient Chinese civilisations as backdrop, the Al Quran is revealed in the beauteous land of rolling hills of Arabic desert beauty, and the Bible are stories or parables set in the serene ancient land of Israel. Herein lies the foundation of Malaysia’s cross-cultural civilisations. Add the grand narratives of the indigenous peoples to the list, and we have a beautiful tapestry of linguistic and cultural diversity. How beautiful the study of language and culture can be. It is even more beautiful to a child learning about the authenticity of the human self in his/her mother tongue. Why then do we need to make political statements accusing this and that group of being linguistic and cultural chauvinists? Cultural contradictions I am now humming the government-propaganda song Muhibbah. The last few verses I can still remember are: Marilah kita berganding tangan Hapuskan lah jurang perbezaan Many decades hence, we have the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer.We have the upper class few smiling broader and many in the middle class becoming quieter. We have few schools getting the most sophisticated computers, while the rest get crumbs of the Information Age. We have children getting all As and being recognised for memorising and regurgitating more and more facts, while some get many Fs and drop out earlier in the new Malaysian rat race. We have more intensified problems with national integration, while the children’s multi-cultural needs are being neglected in the few crucial formative years of their language and cognitive development. We have more and more smart and tall buildings, but we continue to produce fewer and fewer people who can say Stop! to material progress and to focus more on human intellectual development and racial tolerance, and prioritise basic needs over insatiable wants. We have more and more arguments over the possibility of interfaith commissions with a few initiative to help explore and encourage meaningful religious dialogues. We have more and more leaders screaming, shouting, and scheming for democracy and reformasi, but we have fewer and fewer people understanding why we must create even newer and better alternatives to this. Constructive paths Let us then think of newer ways to resolve the contradictions of homogeneity and heterogeneity, between the need to think as one and the necessity of respecting voices of the many. Let us, politicians and educators alike, construct newer ways of ending squabbles and start exploring newer pastures in language and culture, building from the promising existing condition.Politicians, let us: - Learn the complexity of language and nation-building. - Look at language as a gift not a Trojan horse. - Stop making statements on language and schooling that confuse and anger people. - Seek advice from the progressive and humanistic linguists. - Help the media highlight the beauty of human expressions through the languages. - Collaborate with the new radical multi-culturalism that is emerging through the new voices. - Stop making references to this and that superiority in language. - Seek avenues for problem-solving in education that will help children enrich and explore their inner world through the language they grow up in; as a preparation to learn other languages. - Teach citizens to deal with the ‘imperialistic’ onslaught of the corporate English language. - Learn to deconstruct the meaning of language and symbolic power. Educators, let us: - Educate ourselves on the beauty of all languages.- Look at the child as a ‘teacher’ who will teach us his/her language. - Help children preserve their native language. - Teach them to take pride in the language of their inner world. - Enrich our children through cross-cultural perspectives of teaching. - Draw out the ethical and social dimensions. - Perceive and conceive it as a chariot to intellectual and cognitive development. - Use it to combat linguistic and social dominance. - Teach peaceful conflict resolution through language. - Design trans-disciplinary connections in classroom learning. Let us help our children develop all the possibilities of cultural imagination through the celebration and nurturance of the language they speak; to see the differences as anugeraha and not as a path to our nation’s future sengsara. Let us also be reminded by the sage Mahatma Gandhi who once said: “I want all the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.” [OUR USUAL REMINDER, FOLKS: While the opinion in the article is mine, the comments are yours; present them rationally and ethically. AND -- SET ALL I.S.A. DETAINEES FREE] Comments (17) ... written by flyer168, March 08, 2009 13:42:23 Dear Dr Azly Rahman, A well researched & documented article with a balanced logic. Let us ALL look back & LEARN from our early history of this great nation & our forefather's struggles... The British educated & trained Intellectuals, Professionals, Economists, etc (Oxford, Cambridge, etc). - In 1957 FINALLY gained our Independence from the "Colonial British Rule" through the citizen's "concerted" struggle & the Leadership of our Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra & his Malaysian cabinet of TRUE TUANS managing the system of Wesminster style Democracy & with the Rule of Law in 1957, That was the old UMNO (led by Tunku), MCA (lead by Tun Tan Cheng Lock) & MIC (lead by Tun Sambanthan) under the banner of the "Alliance" government. Is not that the "Better & Smarter" choice by the Leadership of our Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra & his Malaysian cabinet of TRUE TUANS managing the system of Wesminster style Democracy & with the Rule of Law in 1957.... Through Political negotiations & POLITICAL SOLUTIONS leading to a "Bloodless" handover & the Independence of Malaya! It proves a point that a Educated, Intelligent, Smart & Wise leaders do not have to resort to Threats, Militancy & unnecessary Battles with collateral damage & bloodshed to the citizens! I was there at the Dataran Merdeka to witness the occassion on 31st August 1957 - the joy, tears & jubilation of Tunku, his cabinet & every Malay, Chinese, Indian, etc citizen of Malaya ! So let us ALL accept the fact that our forefathers suffered but persevered & did not give up the struggle for Independence....until it was achieved ! Let us ALL also learn that Tunku & his Malaysian cabinet of TRUE TUANS, EARNED the RESPECT, TRUST & SUPPORT of ALL the Malayan citizens. It was in 1969 our Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra & his Malaysian cabinet of TRUE TUANS managing the system of Wesminster style Democracy & with the Rule of Law, was "Betrayed" with the "13th May 1969 BLOODY coup d’état" by the "Elite UMNO Ketuanan BEGGARS"....Tun Razak & his group... - some of those are still "Alive, Kicking & Mentoring ALL the New Ketuanan Beggar Wannabes." - This great nation, its assets, its Original EDUCATION SYSTEM & its Anak Bangsa Malaysia have been abused for the last 40 years by these "Moronic Idiots & their Goons" through "Gutter Politics" & the "Law of the Jungle". Divine Intervention Works Wonders & What goes round will come round to "Haunt" UMNO/BN baru. Why is the UMNO/BN Government “Bodoh Sombong” still trying to “Reinvent ANOTHER OF MANY, MANY FAILED EDUCATION SYSTEM WHEELS” (Back to Square One!)..... When our EDUCATION SYSTEM “BASIC WHEEL” since 1957, just needed to be “REDEFINED and REFINED”? If we just “Swallow our False Pride, be Honest & Sincere”, the “Whole Nation and the World” will be with us to HELP out! We only have to “Look, Acknowledge, Ask and Learn” from our neighbour down South - their TESTED, TRIED and PROVEN Original EDUCATION SYSTEM solutions which have “ENDURED THE TEST OF TIME” - DYNAMIC, RESILIENT SUCCESSFUL for more than 50 years! Our Ketuanan UMNO/BN Government's ego from 1969 to "Destroy" the TESTED, TRIED and PROVEN Original EDUCATION SYSTEM solutions which have “ENDURED THE TEST OF TIME” - DYNAMIC, RESILIENT & SUCCESSFUL for more than 50 years with their Malaysia Boleh version have FAILED & FAILED & FAILED for 40 years! So 40 years later, after WASTING Billions of Tax ringgit, they FINALLY learnt that their MEDIOCRE Malaysia Boleh version has not been & is not "Recognised Internationally".... Therefore, they now want to revert back to the "Original"..... Ofcourse their UMNO/BN "Ketuanan" supporters including the Opposition PR "Ketuanan" supporters nationwide feel "CHEATED & PROTESTED” - Their Reversion Plan Backfired & a SLAP in UMNO'S/BN's face !!! I am not surprised UMNO/BN Ketuanan Leaders are INVOLVED in PROMOTING the most recent Protest & UMNO/BN "Ketuanan" supporters also took part with some of them also "Water-cannoned, Tear gassed & arrested" by the Police & FRU ! What I call "COLLATERAL DAMAGE" to their own "UMNO/BN Ketuanan" supporters. report abuse disagree 0 agree 14 ... written by panca, March 08, 2009 14:08:12 minta maaf abang doktor Azly, Saya tidak faham artikel dalam bahasa negeri komanwel, sesiapa boleh tolong 'ar...apa nama....itu...em...emm', ok..transaksi oh bukan, 'translate' kepada bahasa melayu ah, boleh tak? tolong lah!? tolong lah? In the meantime more more kampung(rural) kids, are not going to do what the our past elders did, toreh getah but involve into more advanced technological automation and communication skills even if they are into agricultural fields. Aku dah letih, nak pergi sembang kat warong, hehe. report abuse disagree 4 agree 5 ... written by Alice, March 08, 2009 14:08:49 I sometimes wonder if there would ever be a chance to have you as our Education Minister ..........sigh....and all the good ones have left this shore in search of greener pastures. report abuse disagree 0 agree 20 ... written by lynn, March 08, 2009 14:19:13 Dr Azly As you are aware, we witnessed another protest against teaching Maths & Science in English just 2 days ago. I was told, Brunei, starting 2009 will teach certain subjects in English from Year 1 - these subjects include Maths, Science, Geography. Isn't it odd that Brunei folks did not feel threatened by learning some subjects English? report abuse disagree 1 agree 17 ... written by Malaysiaku, March 08, 2009 14:30:32 Not UMNO or its lackeys. They are nothing more than thieves and robbers. If they are faced with any challenges in life, they would rather 'merajuk' and 'meragam' instead of trying to overcome their short-comings. These UNMNO Malays are nothing more than thieves in clutches. It is in their genes. 'Di-wariskan nenek-moyang'. 'Melayu ini tak akan ubah'. Save you breath Dr Azly. report abuse disagree 0 agree 4 ... written by Oscar Winner, March 08, 2009 15:09:47 I count myself extremely lucky I was a pre-SRP, SPM and STPM student. I learnt Tawarikh and Ilmu Alam, of course in BM. There was a balance between both languages. I acquired knowledge using English, while at the same time I learnt to master BM thru Tawarikh and Ilmu Alam. I mingled with other races, we played football, we camped together. We were like brothers. But those who became guinea pigs in the BM medium are now struggling to construct a properly sentence. XMNO forced them to learn BM. They developed an abhorrance for XMNO. Nothing wrong to learn the national language, but it was forced upon them to acquire knowledge using BM knowing pretty well that they will end up non-marketable or bankable, they hate XMNO even more. XMNO goons, see the simple logic?? report abuse disagree 0 agree 12 ... written by Oscar Winner, March 08, 2009 15:35:08 correction....to construct a proper sentence in English.. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by harryo, March 08, 2009 15:57:11 Nobody denies the importance of BM and this is indicative of the standard of BM at SPM level with literature compenent. English being an international language could bring about development internally as well as globally. While we love out official language, we need a medium for research and advancement of knowledge on all aspects of life, social, technical, scientific, philosophical etc. Why do we have to discard a language that could bring about such advancement to the country. We should not be a frog in the well that when a student scored 17 A's in SPM and sent for further studies where the medium is English, the student could hardly move forward and become retarded only to come back. Could we or not see how much we have lost in our investment in our future? report abuse disagree 1 agree 6 ... written by faridw, March 08, 2009 16:41:10 For those against the use of English language in our schools and insist on the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia, there is one suitable Malays proverb, "Menang sorak, kampung tergadai." Basically it means, you may win the debate/battle on promoting BM but end of the day our kids' futures are doomed. Unless we want them to be still stuck under the coconut shell in a globalized world. report abuse disagree 1 agree 15 ... written by pisdin, March 08, 2009 16:46:23 supposely as a malaysian, or as a personal related to malaysia, regardless of ethnicity or religion, i hope u all understand my simple bahasa melayu. my sincere stand as 29 yrs old ordinary malay guy, had been studied at Nagoya 5 years, curently become undergraduate engineering student at Universiti Malaya. kalau benar la kerajaan ni concern sgt ttg PPSMI ni, perlaksanaannya patut lbh difokuskan scr serius pada peringkat sblm ke universiti/kolej/matrik, yakni pada peringkat menengah tinggi (pra-PMR). itupun perlukan bbrp proses tapisan yg ketat, supaya pelajar2 yg benar2 mampu utk PPSMI ni bersedia. apa yg penting untuk pemerkasaan penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris adalah, bbrp pembaikan yg penting supaya pengajaran & pembelajaran Bahasa Inggeris itu sendiri lbh mesra/dekat dgn isu2 terkini, persekitaran masyarakat sekeliling, terutamanya pada masyarakat luar bandar , lbh menyeronokkan & fleksible. pada peringkat rendah & menengah rendah persekolahan, adalah amat penting penguasaan bahasa ibunda diutamakan dlm bbrp pengajaran & pembelajaran ilmu2 atau disiplin pengetahuan, terutamanya sains & matematik. tetapi pd masa yg sama, bahasa inggeris pun perlu dipelajari dgn lbh intensif & meyakinkan, dgn pendekatan yg lbh mesra, fleksibel & dekat dgn persekitaran. apa salahnya ketika belajar & mengajar mata pelajaran seperti sains & matematik ni, ditekankan sekali bbrp istilah penting dlm bahasa inggeris, supaya suatu masa kelak pelajar itu sendiri tidak kekok memahaminya. bukan semua budak mampu dlm subjek sains & matematik. itupun sebab masing2 ada kecenderungan tersendiri, bergantung keapada apa yang budak itu minat & mampu ke arah mana. adalah lebih relevan kalau PPSMI ini untuk peringkat menengah tinggi, yakni peringkat SPM, di mana pelajar serta guru yang berkenaan sahaja yang perlu ikut, sebagai persediaan tak langsung untuk peringkat seterusnya, bergantung juga kepada apa yang diminati & mampu dipelajari. apa2 pon, jgnlah kita ambil remeh, betapa ada bbrp perkara dlm perlaksanaan PPSMI ini sebenarnya merupakan suatu helah dlm meraih kepentingan ekonomi serta politik di kalangan kroni2 yang terlibat, terutamanya yg berkaitan ngan pihak penguasa BN, hishamuddin & najib sendiri. tgk balik isu PLKN pun, semua org pon maklum. inikan pula PPSMI ini. mereka ini tak kisah sgt org yg krg mampu hal PPSMI ini, asalkan masyuukkk duit. atas kepentingan ekonomi ini jugalah, mereka tak kisah pun pasal survival bahasa ibunda sendiri, serta backfire yg timbul akibat PPSMI ini. realitinya, sesetgh anak bangsa melayu sendiri pd peringkat sekolah pra-U pon penguasaan tatabahasa serta kefahaman Bahasa Melayu pun belum mantap, dibuktikan dengan statistik bbrp keputusan dlm subjek BM pd peringkat UPSR, PMR & SPM sesetgh tempat. saya mengerti, mungkin hujah2 saya ini dianggap agak kolot, ketinggalan zaman, tidak realistik, serta sedikit egoistik di kalangan rasionalis yg menyokong PPSMI ini. tp sbrnya, tidak pula saya nafikan peranan & pentingnya bahasa inggeris ini, tak kira mana2 bidang pun. tp, sepanjang pengalaman saya menjadi seorang pelajar generasi akhir 80-an hingga akhir 90-an, tanpa PPSMI pun, kita mampu lbh berjaya. itupun bergantung kepada usaha & jalan takdir yg ditempuhi masing2 la. jgnlah dicacarbarbakan anak watan kita dgn dasar yg tidak relevan dgn persekitaran sekeliling. jika benarlah ada ketulusan dlm PPSMI ini, biarlah pada golongan sasaran yg mampu & betul, sptmn yg telah saya tekankan sblm ini. jika ada terselit kepentingan ekonomi yg amat tidak sihat dlm isu PPSMI ini, matlamat takkan sampai, tapi mudharat lain yg akan timbul. ketika itu, tiada sesiapa pun yg untung. sekian. wassalam. report abuse disagree 1 agree 1 ... written by Milo, March 08, 2009 19:20:21 All the current talk on culture by some leaders seem to be it is a fixed practice. By definition, all cultures are evolved from something else. This means every of today's cultures were once different from what it is when it was first a practice by the respective people. Since it is an evolving practice, what is so wrong to improve any part that are defective? It is not like bad aspects of any culture should not be changed. Should the ibans keep the head hunting practice of their ancestors? It is just the narrow and neurotic mindset of these leaders that is the real problem. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by Dominic, March 08, 2009 21:41:53 Get those who opposed and lets send them to countries that only understand English and let them interact strictly with BM. See,where do they flair? These are idiots who dont want to see reality but instead blindly follow what the Talibans are doing in Afghanistan ! I hope what ever credit theres still left of Krisham,he should stay firm and not sway from reality !!! report abuse disagree 1 agree 1 ... written by Steven Tan, March 08, 2009 23:18:34 Dear Brothers and Sisters, From my point of view, there’s nothing wrong of BM be our National Language but we must realise something… WITHOUT GOOD COMMAND in ENGLISH, we cannot go far, we cannot compete internationally. I believe most of you will agree with me on this. Lately we hear lot of people making noise and want Maths and Science to be taught in BM. Do all these people still remember why previously there was an issue where more than 60,000 graduate were unemployed???? The answer was very straight forward…..They either couldn’t communicate or poor in English. Due to that any company find very difficult to employ them as their key person or executive staffs. So, for all the parents out there… let me ask you this question… Do you all want this to happen to your kids??? Think again… Without good command in English, our kids only can be the “Jagoh Kampung”. They CANNOT compete internationally not only that, they also couldn't further up their studies abroad and definitely can forget about working in foreign countries. Instead of protesting the teaching of Maths and Science in English, we should encourage the government to find more ways to teach our kids and improve their command in English. If you’re financially poor, don’t forget this… The only choice that you have to give a good and quality education for you kids is through the normal schooling system that they’re going through now. So like it or not, they have to gain the maximum education and knowledge in these 11 or 12 years of their schooling time. And of course these 11 or 12 years is the time for them to master thier skill in ENGLISH. Unless, if you’re a wealthy person then I have no comment. You can send you kids to overseas like how those rich UMNOPUTRAS (e.g D.S. Hishamudin, D.S. Najib, D.S. Nazri and other) and their cronies are doing OR atleast they can send their kids to MCKK (Malay College Kuala Kangsar) to gain the local quality education. For those who always try to compare with certain (developed) countries whenever this problem arises. These people always want to compare with Japan, Korea, German and France.. For this people I would remind them one thing… All the mentioned countries have their own TECHNOLOGY, so they can survive with their own language BUT Malaysia DON’T HAVE the own Technology so we cannot survive internationally with our language. For that we need our kids to be educated in English… Well, the future of your kids is in your hand… if you still want to stick to your own decision which is to fully educate your kids in BM, then in next 10 or 15 years time don’t blame anybody esle if your kids are educated but no firm want to accept them as their executive staffs. Please DON'T FORGET THIS... this language issue arise because of politicians.. Last time when the education was in English, the politician used this issue for his personal gain, so to achieve that he provoked ordinary people and he gained the popularity. Now the politicians still using the same language issue to provoke us and this time to revert back the teaching of Maths and Science in English to BM. Well, for you info, both of this situations is created by the politicians for their personal gain. So please don't be the instrument for them. Take care and make a good and wise decision report abuse disagree 0 agree 10 ... written by tokbahaman, March 08, 2009 23:24:04 I prefer the Hakka language over English. report abuse disagree 1 agree 2 ... written by lynn, March 09, 2009 12:44:43 Dr Azly, Some of us Malaysian Chinese are unable to read or write Mandarin as you are probably aware. Sometimes we felt ashamed & insecure when we encounter non-Chinese ppl speaking/writing Chinese better than we do. So I think in Malaysia, the situation is "terbalek". The Malays shld feel alarmed the non-Malays are mastering Bahasa Melayu!!! Instead they are taking to the streets against learning English!!! That is what brainwashing had done to their brains. They got their priorities messed up or they had no priorities, only pride, prejudice & perpetually harbouring self-doubt & low esteem. report abuse disagree 0 agree 3 ... written by Cash Money, March 09, 2009 14:05:02 Encik Azly hope one of these days I will find my way into your lecture hall for a sit in. Anyway my point "Pujangga Baru", the "Baru" was a insertion by the Indonesian laurates then.The whole idea of the insertion of "Baru" by these group of revolutionist was for the rakyat to "hidup berwarna", symbolic interaction mix and mingle,so as to enrich ones upstairs. Sad to say Umno and Semangat 46 -ended as "Umno Baru"-who do we thank for this brilliant shift the Delima Man shithead "Mahathir Mohamad" report abuse disagree 0 agree 3 ... written by Wisdom above, March 17, 2009 10:13:23 If they are not interested to learn " English " at all, why force them to use the English language ? report abuse disagree 1 agree 4