Why it is important to have progressive thinking

The current backlash on the government’s decision to reverse its course on Teaching Science and Mathematics in English shows how much our rakyat are aware of the real impact of this decision.

Varsity students, education luminaries, corporate figures, the men and women on the street all have various comments on the policy, but it is clear what the majority says: We need this policy, and we don’t want it to be scrapped.

The government should know early on, when they decided to implement the policy during Tun Dr. Mahathir’s time, that they need teachers that can teach the two subjects in English. So what did they do? They told these teachers to attend courses, which some treats as a holiday, and did not do a periodic re-assessment of their proficiency to teach the subjects in English. So what are they doing?

If the teachers cannot teach properly, don’t expect the students and pupils to learn properly as well. Teachers, listen up. You are government servants, selected to learn and teach the new generation. When the MoE sends you to attend courses, don’t grumble and rumble. Take it as a sign that you are singled out for great things. MoE, please don’t send these teachers off on weekdays, you’ll disrupt the students’ timetable and attention.

Back to the point, this reversal and lack of progress for the last seven years since the policy was first implemented showed that the government, at large, lacks the ability to think progressively and positively. All they think about is opinion polls, opposition words, the small minority’s voice. Stop, and get out of your comfort zone! Being in charge, and by extension, leaders, all of you should buck up and dare to make currently unpopular decisions. Think about the future! The Japanese can be world leaders in technology, and their works, theses and dissertations are translated to English, but it doesn’t mean we should follow them. For one, we don’t have their background. By 1980’s, Japan is already ahead of Western countries, but during the same time period, we’re still progressing at a snail’s pace!

Malays are, and will always be, ungrateful. Look on the other side of the fence. Members of the opposition are mostly receivers of government study grants, loans and scholarships. They are the ones the government nurtured, but look what’s happening now? For the sake of being popular, you want to sell your bangsa to others? Kalau tak bagi, marah; kalau bagi, merungut (if we do not give, you yell; if we give, you grumble). Is that first class mentality? Is that progressive thinking?

Learning in English will not erode our culture. Far from it. The late Tun Razak has studied overseas, in English. But he is the one that started Felda, that made sure the kampung folks are well taken cared of. He’s the one who goes into the bendang, shirt and shoes off, trouser legs rolled up and participates with the kampung folk. Being progressive means integrating our culture into the future. The Japanese can do it, so why can’t we? Don’t simply say that the Japanese can be technologically-advanced by not learning Science and Mathematics in English, that they did so to maintain their cultural roots. Wrong! The Japanese adapted the Bushido, of the Samurai’s code of honor, into their daily lives. Even directors of prominent Japanese zaibatsus practices bushido in their decision making.

Us, Malays? We are so caught up in the globalization wave that we forget out roots. Street riots, demos and throwing rocks at party workers are not our culture. You chant prayers to Allah, yet you badmouth other people that don’t support you as heretics, as kafir. Is that progressive thinking? Is that even positive thinking? If you are true to your roots and convictions, you will realize that Allah had already given us the direction and the solution for this problem. The very first message that the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) received from Allah via the archangel Jibril/Gabriel was:

Read! In the name of your Lord who created(!1). He created man from a clot(2). Read and your Lord is Most Honorable(3). Who taught (to write) with the pen(4). Taught men what he knew not (5).

(Surah Al-Alaq, verse 1-5. Translation by Shakir), taken from:
http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/096.qmt.html
(credits to the owners of the translation)

Even Allah entreats us to seek knowledge, so why should we deny it? Isn’t denying the words of Allah blasphemous and sinful?

Be progressive. Discard the old world views. For the sake of our future, we need this policy back on track. Don’t discard it come 2012.

Moonwalk on English

When I saw the cartoon lampooning the government’s decision in the Sunday Star (12 July 2009) by Reggie Lee, my first thought was, it summed the situation correctly.

First you told students to learn Science and Mathematics in English, then revert back to Malay, then introduce options to answer the SPM finals bilingually, then you’re scrapping the whole thing come 2012. What good can come out of this?

Nothing.

I’m putting my two-cents worth into the field, and I’m writing as a public university student, who is on the ground and is learning a not-so-tough course, human resource. Let me tell you this:

1. Textbooks are in English, even those printed by the uni’s own printing arm.
2. Lectures are in English, no matter how broken the student and lecturer is on the subject.
3. Final examinations, assignments, tutorials, presentations are in English.

These three points should be taken as an indicator of how the current Education Minister is not doing his job, which is making sure that the education system in Malaysia is top-notch and is par to those of Western and other First World institutions. Three semesters, or equivalent to one and a half years of re-learning English, especially for students who took up technical, sciences and mathematics courses, is not the way to produce quality graduates.

The current batch of secondary-level students will continue their studies in all knowledge under the sun, as per affordability of ones’ parents and the availability of places in both public and private institutions of higher learning. They will walk into class, sit down and smile because they knew all about differentiation, the covalent bond, Newton’s Laws of Motion, etc, because they have learned all of this in English. And it is not a culture shock for them to speak, write and discuss in English, because they are comfortable with it.

Post-2012, students will be afraid of going to classes. Why? Because in IPTAs and IPTS, majority of classes are in English. Textbooks are imported and sold at exorbitant prices to students, all of which are written by English-speaking professors and other luminaries of the field. Just go and browse a few books, just from the business faculty. The name to search and the book to read on marketing is by Kotler, an American marketing guru. He has written books and manuals and guides, all on marketing, and all in English.

The time spent by professors and doctors to translate books into Malay, so that these non-English speakers and thinkers can learn and (hopefully) pass the course by regurgitating the memorized facts, is indeed wasted. Time that should be spent on writing new papers, dissertations, research, lectures, seminars and courses. And by just rote memorization, how can varsities say that they produce first class graduates? They were never thought to think outside the box!

I know, MJ’s dead. So, should the government honor him by reversing a good policy just because some geezers protests about how it will erode our identity and culture?

No. We as a Malaysian, living in the 21st Century, should be able to juggle both our Eastern and Western cultures. To make our own nation as a developed country with a first class mentality, English is the ticket. Think about what the rakyat, the future wants, not what the naysayers, the present wants.