KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad urged defenders of the national language to set aside their objections to the use of English in education, saying the learning of science and mathematics would be harmed otherwise.
The prime minister told the Dewan Rakyat during the Minister’s Question Time today that science and mathematics were fields of knowledge that advance rapidly and continually, and that insisting on teaching these in Bahasa Melayu would hamper Malaysian students.
“(New discoveries in) science and mathematics is not something that is pioneered in Bahasa Melayu as it is studied by those whose mother tongue is a different language. If we don’t understand the language, it will be difficult to translate the knowledge into Bahasa Melayu.
“If we understand their language, we will have direct access to any new knowledge that they find. To gain their knowledge, we must study their language. If we wait for someone to translate (into Bahasa Melayu) for us, it will never happen because no one (here) understands the language.
“That’s why I think the nationalistic pride to preserve Bahasa Melayu (at the expense of English or other languages) will get in the way of obtaining knowledge and we will not progress,” said Dr Mahathir said when answering a supplementary question Fahmi Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai).
The Langkawi lawmaker also pointed out that Greek had once been the lingua franca of the ancient world, but the Arabs had no qualms learning the language in order to gain access to Greek learning.
When Arabic then became the primary language of knowledge, European scholars similarly had to pick up Arabic in order to learn from them.
Dr Mahathir added that when the Arabs stopped pursuing science and mathematics, the language of knowledge was transferred to the Europeans.
Earlier, Fahmi asked if Putrajaya would reintroduce the teaching of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI) and whether the National Education Advisory Council has made any recommendations on the matter.
Dr Mahathir told the Lower House that they are still studying the matter but noted that the council was split between those that wanted PPSMI and those insistent on continuing with Bahasa Melayu.
PPSMI had been among Dr Mahathir’s final policies as the fourth prime minister but this was overturned by the Najib administration.
https://www.malaymail.com
Science, maths in English still on, says PM
THE Education Ministry is looking at using information technology to aid in the learning process when it reintroduces a controversial programme to teach science and mathematics in English, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“The Education Ministry is studying in detail the reintroduction of PPSMI (Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris),” he told the Dewan Rakyat today, referring to the programme by its Malay name.
He said the best teachers would be employed for the lessons for the benefit of the pupils.
Dr Mahathir emphasised the importance of proficiency in English, which is the common medium of instruction in the sciences.
“Unlike geography and history, science is constantly progressing, and new knowledge is being discovered.”
It is important to master the English language to translate such knowledge into Bahasa Malaysia, he said.
Dr Mahathir said this while replying to Fahmi Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai) who had wanted to know if the PPSMI would be re-introduced after it was dropped in 2012 after a decade of implementation.
Putrajaya’s plan for a reboot has been met with strong resistance from Malay education groups and a section of the teaching fraternity.
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com
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