Malaysia: Objections On English Usage Considered Before

[Harold Schiffman]

Dompok: Objections On English Usage Considered Before





KOTA KINABALU, March 8 (Bernama) -- Objections surrounding the use of
English as the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science in
schools, had been discussed when the policy was first proposed.
Therefore, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard
Dompok said, there was no reason why the authorities should revert to
the policy since the Malay language was not under any threat. "I feel
this matter has been considered, like eight years ago, when Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad proposed it when he was the prime minister. "All the
objections that we hear today, were those that were already discussed,
about eight years ago.

"This does not mean we are ignoring the Malay language...I think Malay
language is striving, we have succeeded making it the language of the
nation, so much so, nearly all the homes in Sabah are using it as the
first language," he told reporters after launching the Stacy AF first
album, 'Aku Stacy' at 1 Borneo here today. The Cabinet will decide on
the policy -- which began in 2003 -- this month, on whether it should
be continued, following calls by groups for it to end. The Government
will consider four aspects in deciding whether the policy should
continue, namely the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national
language, the ability of students to master English, the competency of
teachers in teaching the two subjects and the achievement of students
in Science and Mathematics.

About 5,000 protesters joined a procession from the National Mosque to
Istana Negara yesterday, to hand over a memorandum to the palace,
urging the King to intervene in the issue. Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he wanted an immediate decision on this to
prevent further controversy.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=394846

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