Tentang PPSMI

There certainly had been a steady stream of grouses against PPSMI since its inception in 2003. Many feel that the prolonged use of English as the medium in Science and Mathematics at school threatens the very existence of Malay language in the country. I would not say that I totally disagree with this group of people; they certainly have a point and I spare nothing but respect for their passion. Events of the past few months, however, have arguably brought this disagreement to a totally new level. In the latest development, there is a planned gathering in KL today for 100 thousand people who are against this implementation (though I very much that they will ever reach that figure, but let’s not focus on that).

My question is, why now? Why didn’t they voice out their dissent when the program was first implemented six years back? Yeah there had been similar concern, but I do not recall it being as strong as it is now. Surely if similar efforts were put in place back then, they could have made a huge difference. Perhaps more important, why do the government even consider reverting back to using Malay language as the medium only after six years of implementation? It seems that for each step forward that we take, we anxiously take a look back and constantly think about reversing two steps.

This reminds me a lot to another local body that is going nowhere, the FAM. First they decided to do away with foreign imports in our national football leagues, and after only a few years they made a complete U-turn to that decision. This year they decided to do it all over again, getting rid of the foreigners for the new season. Haven’t they learnt any lesson from that first effort? Look at the state of our national team; they are fast moving in downwards direction. I dread to think about the fate of our students facing a similar situation.

I am no expert in our education system, but I can tell with confidence that six years is not enough to gauge the effectiveness of PPSMI. Even the first batch that sat for Science and Mathematics in English are still juggling their ways in universities. Wait until after a decade or two for the result - look at the level of English competency amongst fresh graduates, the rate of employment, and the level of progress we have made in science and technology field. If, God forbids, the picture by that time is not all pretty and rosy, then only we should seriously consider taking a step in a new direction. As of now, there is just no way of telling that the implementation is going to bring us nowhere. In fact, if the recent results of PMR and SPM are to give us any indication, the future actually looks bright and there is no harm done along the way.

Of course cynics will argue that it is best if we overturn a bad decision before things get worse. After all, why wait until storm when we could have run away or build a shelter early on? Choosing to wait until after a decade or so is a sheer waste of time, especially if the end result proves to be disastrous. I understand this predicament, but as I said there are just no hard facts to support the notion that PPSMI does not work. If one can come out with a strong, convincing argument backed by facts to revert back to the use of Malay language as the medium, I am sure that everyone will be willing to listen.

I do realize, though, that the main concern of anti-PPMSI groups is that it will only downgrade the Malay language. The problem is that this is a subjective matter; there is just no way to see the effect of PPSMI on Malay language, no hard facts it to back it up. If my sheer thought alone can provide any consolation, I do not think that PPSMI will be detrimental. We still hold our daily conversation with peers in Malay language, and we can still perfectly understand Berita Harian. However, I might be wrong altogether. Their worst fear is that our national language will creep away from the society slowly, and it might be gone even before we realize it, before we can do something about it. We might still speak in Malay language, but English words are incorporated in our sentences more and more. We have no problem reading Berita Harian, but we choose to buy The Star. This is the unseen impact of PPSMI that they believe to exist.

Now if we can just hold on for a sec and examine our options – where do we go from here? Our main aim is two-pronged – we want to produce students who are highly competent in English especially in Science and Mathematics, but at the same time we also want to preserve the national language. We can go back to where we were, using Malay language as the tool in Science and Mathematics and then think about ways to beef up the English level. Unless serious attempts are made at this, this does not pose much difference from our previous situation and does not look promising. Or we can continue with the current system, and throw serious efforts in maintaining the Malay language. This looks more doable since we already have the system in place, and the fact that Malay language is still very much in makes things easier and more assuring. On one hand we have an option which needs us to make our way back and still does not guarantee that we will ever get anywhere. On the other, the option poses some challenges but there is a promise that we can fulfil both aims.

Time and again people will come and say that PPSMI will not work, that the whole system must be changed. But why change the entire system when you can work on improving the implementations? Your newly-bought car breaks down in the middle of the road, do you trade it in and purchase a new one straight-away or do you send it to mechanics to fix the broken part? I have not gone through the part where a change in our system will cost us significantly in the publication of new textbooks, the need to provide new guidelines to our teachers, the disposal of exam papers already printed in English and so forth. In this gloomy period for the world economics, the last thing we want to hear is the government proposing millions of dollars of new incentive to change to the face of a system that has not proven to be negative.

The other part of the problem is the charge that we are making life difficult for students in the rural area who are already struggling with scientific concepts and mathematical theories, now having to deal with them altogether in English. Again, this can be well improved by a more proper execution. Extra teachers can be put in place to assist, and perhaps efforts can be made to expose these students to English at a younger age. Thousands of others come from families who speak no English, read no English, yet they blossom when Science and Mathematics are being taught in this language. Some even secured scholarships and gained entrance to prestigious universities. So, no excuse, okay? Besides, we are not doing them any favour by retracting back to Malay language. Surely progress cannot be achieved if all we do is pamper these students and remove their struggles. How long more are we going to make life easy for the children?

My worst fear is that this matter is being used by opportunists for their own political gains. We are seeing it today, and I fret to think of the fate of the future generations if this trend continues.

Jebat Must Die wrote a good piece on this. On a different note, Saharil Hasrin Sanin penned a wonderful essay on the fate of our national language in New Malaysian Essays 1 and his thought on healing it. I could not find this essay anywhere on the net – I am afraid the only way for you to read it is to buy the book yourself, which I guarantee will be worth every penny.