PPSMI

In year 2003, our former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir had launched PPSMI, or Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English. This programme received generally positive feedback and comments from the people of Malaysia. However, there were some people who weren't satisfied at all, and they gave the following reasons:

1. Reducing the competitiveness of Malays, especially those in rural areas.
It's undeniable Malays in rural areas generally have a lower command of English language, since they widely use BM in their daily lives. Therefore, the launching of this programme agitated them as they were aware that they would not be able to compete with those in urban areas due to their below-average level of English. But hey, don't narrow down your vision, put it on the horizon. By learning English (AND YOU AREN'T GIVING UP BM), you provide yourself a chance to compete with others. English as an international language and lingua franca serves as a platform for us to fight with others. Don't just grumble that you couldn't catch up, find out the reasons. Was it because you weren't diligent enough? Was it because you didn't have a good teacher? I guess you knew the reasons well. Chinese in rural areas can perform as well as those in urban areas, why can't you? So stop talking nonsense.

2. Challenging the status of BM.
Ridiculous. Yes, you learn Science and Mathematics in English, BUT YOU LEARN THEM IN BM too. Did the government remove the learning of both subjects in BM? No. Chinese schools continued learning in their mother tongue, so there's no way that you can say PPSMI challenged the status and position of BM. We still have BM as our national language, English as a second. Chinese schools have Mandarin as their primary language. Needless to say much, BM is not challenged nor mitigated whether or not PPSMI is continued.

So, the government said that they will stop PPSMI after surveying the wants of people? Really? Oh crap. Check this out. http://www.chedet.co.cc/. Currently, 71468 of people voted and voiced out their opinion in Tun Mahathir's blog. 61821 people or 86.5% said that they disagree or oppose the cancellation of PPSMI. In other words, ONLY 13.5% wants PPSMI to be stopped. Fancy an explaination, government?

Now, allow me to fight for PPSMI, will you?

PPSMI, or Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris, or Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English, intends to improve the level of English mastery in students. It, too, helps students to understand both subjects in English. Seriously, I STRONGLY AGREE that it should be continued for the following reasons:

1. Science and Mathematics are better taught in English.
Well, well. Might I ask you a question, ladies and gentlemen? ("Yes," you replied) Would you rather listen to teachers speaking 'fotosintesis' or 'photosynthesis'? Although the spelling is almost the same (You should know who is the rightful owner of the word), the pronunciation differs a lot. The former one would normally makes me feel annoyed because it's not genuine at all. Let me remind you that 'fotosintesis' is only the front part of Science. Later on, you will meet new terms such as 'kalsium karbonat', 'natrium klorida' and 'elektrolisis'. Oh, cute words they might be, but careful when you bring them to international levels. The caucasians will laugh at you, while some others will wonder whether or not your tongue has problems with it. I am not looking down at BM, but Science is widely learnt by almost all students, so it should be taught in one language to ensure uniformity. I am glad that the government knows that Form Six students have to prepare for international-levelled course, so PPSMI is continued in Form Six. So, why let secondary students learn both subjects in BM for FIVE YEARS, then suddenly change them into English?

2. Money-wise.
Needless to say, RM 3.1 billion is spent on PPSMI. Government bought a lot of new equipments, such as the odd-voiced-woman computer programme, while the book companies spent a lot of money to find authors to write for them and parents had their wallets or purses bleed by sending their children to tuition (It's not tiu-tion, it's tiu-wee-tion) classes.

3. International battleground is all about English currently, if not forever.
As aforementioned, don't let the caucasians to laugh at your half-English and half-BM slang. 'Kalsium karbonat' is definitely not a good word to show BM's uniqueness and beauty, it's just merely a word copied from English. Mandarin danced decently in international levels, and 碳酸钙 (Calcium carbonate in Chinese) is quite pretty too, in my opinion. At least, Mandarin doesn't copy English exactly.

For three reasons, I can say PPSMI is better than PPSMM. I am sure you agree with me too, don't you?