Please continue to teach Science and Mathematics in English!

I subscribe to the notion that global competitiveness is anchored in the proficiency of our country – and hence our people – in the English language. About six or seven years ago, the Federal government recognized this and made a policy decision that in order for the country to remain competitive globally, Science and Mathematics should be taught in the English language. (Actually, I would have liked them to go one step better and bring back the English-medium secondary schools, maybe not every school but at least the top schools in the country.)

Unfortunately today, there are still narrow-minded people who cannot adapt and feel threatened personally. Then, they hide behind the excuse that this policy is a threat to Bahasa Malaysia as the national language. What bumpkum! The teaching of these two subjects in English is not a show of disrespect to the national language.

Bahasa Malaysia will always have a place in Malaysia; if not here, where else? But it’s also the future of our country at stake here. People who still oppose the policy have a misplaced patriotism. About a week ago, a group of stupid people resorted to protesting in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. These are the people who cannot see the woods for the trees, who can only understand immediate gains instead of long-term profits, who fail at strategy because of poor tactics, who win the battle but lose the war.

They claimed that teachers are not fluent in English. Previously, some claimed that teachers were going mad. Please…those are pathetic excuses. Don’t blame the teachers. Instead, they should blame the Education Ministry for failing to equip the teachers adequately for this patriotic task. So go run to see the Education Minister and demand that he improve the methods of teaching English to the teachers. Go one step forward, not two steps backwards.

Do you understand, all you people with misplaced patriotism? You either progress with the times or you wallow miserably in the past and get consumed by your self-pity.