KUALA LUMPUR - Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad won himself some credit with urban Malaysians, when he repeated his call for Science and Mathematics to be taught in English.
"We have to be realistic. Bahasa Malaysia is still not the official language for Science and Maths," Mahathir said at the International Conference on Teacher Education in the Muslim World on Tuesday.
"I am a Malay and I love the Malay language. But I also want the Malays to be educated. I beg that the subjects be taught in English again."
Najib seen playing to the Malay gallery
However, Prime Minister Najib Razak's government is unlikely to heed the 88-year-old Mahathir, whom many believe may have lost the bulk of his influence after being outmaneuvered by his rivals in the recent Umno polls as well as during the May 5 general election.
Critics expect Najib and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education minister, to stick with current system where the 2 key subjects are taught in Malay.
"This will be the opportunity for Najib and Muhyiddin to win brownie points with the Malays. It's easy to predict their reaction. They will rush to assure the Malays their rights will be protected when actually this is an issue of education and not of race or racial rights," Eddie Wong, a PKR veteran watcher, told Malaysia Chronicle.
Whatever his motive, and Mahathir is known for his Machiavellian brand of politicking, the logic behind Mahathir's call is strong.
Not only is English the lingua franca of the world, the Internet, technology, medicine and the sciences, the poor standard of English among Malaysian workers have been a longstanding complaint by big-time MNC investors here including Intel.
Malaysia Chronicle
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