In Malay or in English?

By Chi Siew Yin

2012-122469

Topic : Ministry of Education

Science, a core subject that will influence the technological advancement of a nation. Presently, the lingua franca of Science are conducted  in English to the point that non-native English speaking nations are upgrading their level of English to master the subject. In the previous 6 years Science was supposed to be taught in English but due to lack of language proficiency, many teachers taught the subject in Bahasa Malaysia mixed with English.  Our country  has now reverted back that Science is taught in Bahasa Malaysia starting with Form 1 in 2013 and this does not bode well for our nation to the point that other nations are progressing and we are regressing.

"On Oct 7, Dr. Mahathir again expressed his concern at the lack of proficiency in English displayed by students, when he complained about the quality of graduates, who presented themselves for job interviews. In one case, he claimed that only seven out of the 333 potential job applicants in information technology, were suitable. The unsuccessful graduates did not know English and had asked for the interview to be conducted in Malay. "(FMT News, 2013)

"With the emphasis on Malay, Malays are reluctant to speak English with some claiming that it is unpatriotic to speak anything but Malay. The irony is that these Malays complain about the difficulty of getting jobs in the private sector, or with multinational companies."(FMT News, 2013)

With this policy, future generations will face difficulties communicating with people in other country in Science field that will cause serious impact towards Malaysia's economy. As a transmitter of knowledge, skills and values to the mass population, teachers in Malaysia or in any other parts of the world, are always considered as the nation’s greatest asset. As such, teachers must be able to play their roles and fulfil their responsibilities to their utmost capabilities. To be able to do so, teachers must be well prepared for the profession and at the same time maintain and improve their skills through lifelong career learning. In total of RM 125 million allocated to enhance teaching in Science by breaking RM 500 million into four parts for four subjects. Let's push the cost of training a Science teacher with quality that is able conduct his or her class in English to a maximum of RM 4000, with 10094 schools in Malaysia now including primary and secondary education, every school can at least boost the quality of 3 Science teachers to ensure their qualification. Support for their well being and professional development should therefore be an integral and essential part of the efforts made to raise the standard of teaching and learning, and students’ achievement. At the same time, teachers must also inculcate in their students dispositions towards lifelong learning and skills required in facing the upcoming national and global challenges especially Science and Technology.

The flip-flop policy of Malaysia in education created confusions to Malaysians.

The point of learning Science is to acquire knowledge, struggling between which language to conduct it is not the main point, our objective is educating the younger generations.

The trend of Malaysian mixing Malay language with English even though they owned a diploma, degree or for those who already have a stable job during communication.

Competition nowadays are tough, Communicating in English is one of the must in the society.

Conducting Science in English must be pressed to ensure the development of the nation.

Reference
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