Local grads fall short of employers' expectations

KUALA LUMPUR ( March 4, 2012): Graduates emerging from the Malaysian education system are failing to meet the expectations of prospective employers due to a lack of critical thinking skills and poor communication.

This has resulted in employers having to provide additional training to fit them into their respective job scopes while many graduates have to accept employment that does not correspond with their qualifications.

Malaysian-based education, human resource and recruitment consultants feel there is a need for a sound foundation in critical thinking to be incorporated into the education system to prepare future generations for the employment market.

Manpower Staffing Services (M) Sdn Bhd country manager Sam Haggag said there is a distinct gap between what the Malaysian education system is producing and what employers are looking for.

"This has resulted in six out of 10 graduates from Malaysian universities taking as much as six months to find a job. The other 40 percent take even longer," said Haggag, whose company provides workforce solutions that include recruitment and training.

"Recruitment is a distinct challenge as the universities are churning out graduates who don't have the requisite skills to enter the workforce.

"From the manpower context, we find that seven out of 10 graduates who come to recruitment interviews fail the English [language] competency test set by our clients.

"The lack of proficiency in English limits their ability to communicate beyond the borders of Malaysia and this lowers their confidence and curtails their ability to add value in the workplace," he said in a statement.

Hong Leong Bank chief human resources officer Ramon Chelvarajasingam said many of the new graduates emerging from the Malaysian education system lack the critical thinking skills required to keep up in a world that is constantly changing and becoming increasingly competitive.

"New technologies and methodologies are forcing people to operate beyond their comfort zone. In our competitor nations, the young professionals are more advanced in critical thinking, innovation, thinking out of the box and have continuous development initiatives compared within Malaysia," he pointed out.

He added that today, most employers are looking for graduates with a high level of confidence who are exposed to niche areas outside of their academic studies.

"These new graduates won't give you textbook answers, but will, through their answers, display a global mindset and show understanding of moving trends in the world. Employers are usually prepared to pay a higher salary to get these 'global associates' onboard," Ramon said.

Prospect Consulting Sdn Bhd director Nina Adlan, who provides advisory services to educational institutions aiming to set up branch campuses in Malaysia, said she has observed 'a disconnect' between what graduates put down on their curriculum vitae and what they are like in reality.

"When we hire, we consider the way graduates converse and portray themselves to be more important than what's in the CV. What's the point in having good academic results when they can't communicate, can't conduct a proper conversation and have no confidence?" she said.

Haggag said one reason for the lack of confidence evident in young graduates is that educational institutions are not placing enough focus on equipping undergraduates with skills that will enable them to think out of the box and adapt to the demands of the working world.

"Among the reasons why those emerging from local education system do not meet employers' standards is the system itself. It is not dissimilar from that of the UK, which is teacher-centric and focuses on rote learning and swotting and places less emphasis on practical application. The system also focuses on individual achievement and less on team performance, so there aren't many opportunities for students to acquire interactive skills.

"It's the same in Malaysia, where the system is biased towards those who do well in exams, which is not necessarily the best way to gauge their employability," he added.

Ramon said education institutions need to create a 'learning environment' that combines an experiential approach and exposure to knowledge that extends beyond the scope of academic theory.

"Textbook stuff doesn't help them face the challenges of businesses that are constantly evolving. They need to be exposed to changing trends and behaviours, and to be taught skills like creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and adaptability.

"They also need to be taught how to be globally aware, which is how to link what they learn to what is happening around the world," he said.

Nina said if Malaysia is to produce more employable graduates with creative and problem-solving skills, all parties involved in education should work together to create a culture that places a high value on critical thinking and creativity to replace the current one which focuses on information transfer and academic results.

She pointed out that graduates who attend interviews more often than not are asked questions which require them to "think out of the box" which requires critical thinking ability.

An Internet check on the most frequently asked interview questions provides an insight into the "real world" out there.

With questions such as: What do you look for in a job? Why should we hire you? Define success at work? How do you feel that your education has prepared you for this job? to Why is a manhole cover round? Nina said the grounding, for the future generation to handle these and other questions and to be in a position to handle work situations without having to literally flip through a manual (if there is one), is to lay a strong foundation at the school level for them to be able to come up with strategies and solutions that can be unique and appropriate for each situation.

This, she insisted, would help pave the way to achieve Malaysia's quest to become a developed nation with the necessary manpower that would meet the industries' and the country's requirements. – Bernama

It's good that the PPSMI policy is being scrapped off to give way to 'Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia Dan Memperkukuhkan Penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris'(MBMMBI) so that the lay people out there will be worst in their proficiency in English.

Moreover, all the sons and daughters of all of the Pak Menteri's can be sent to overseas to study whatever they want in English.

Just leave the rest of us losers who don't have so much money to rot here and die.

Whatever it is, I support whatever policy that will make the Malays lose out more to the other races which can speak in their own mother tongue, as well as in Malay and English language.

Only the Malays will lose out if they can only converse in Malay and understand Malay.

This is because you will not understand a crap about what the non-Malays are saying about us in the English newspapers or their English blogs.

Survey on PPSMI

1. Do you support PPSMI?
A. Yes
B. No

2. If yes, state your reasons.

____________________________________________

3. If no, state your reasons.

____________________________________________

4. What have you done to ensure that your kids are well-versed in English?

____________________________________________

P/S : Everyone reading this should answer so that we can get the real numbers of who is for and against this policy.

The stupidest Education Minister after Al Juburi

Review teaching of English in schools: DPM


SEGAMAT: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has ordered the English Language Curriculum Division to have a relook at the learning of the language in schools to ensure students can master it as a second language.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said he had directed Education director-general Datuk Abdul Ghafar Mahmud to carry out a review on the learning of English Language in school.

"How the national education system involving 13 years, with five years of secondary school, is still unable to provide our students with a good grasp of the English Language, I, myself, am incapable of answering," he said in his speech during a visit to SMK Felda Maokil, Labis here today.

Muhyiddin said the review might determine if the weakness was due to a shortage of English Language teachers, equipment or due to other causes.

He said mastery of the English Language was important because it was the main language in international communication and the economy.

He also rejected the perception that implementing the 'Uphold Bahasa Melayu, Strengthen the English Language' policy had resulted in the Education Ministry neglecting the English Language.

Muhyiddin also said the ministry had carried out a comprehensive survey of the nation's educational infrastructure, in its effort to provide the infrastructural need of schools.

He said, although his ministry had received a development allocation of between RM5 billion and RM6 billion, the amount was not enough because of the large number of schools in the country and the rapid population growth which required the constructions of new schools. -- Bernama

No need to review. Just do it like before where there is an English medium.

The new policy is stupid because the lingua franca is still the English language.

If you want the students to remain stupid, then Muhyiddin should definitely continue with the current policy which had replaced PPSMI.

Just because you are stupid, does not mean that the rest of us has to be stupid like you too!

Continue with the PPSMI and bring back the English medium school.

I am sure that the racists kiasu love to see the Malays be stupid and will support this stupid move.

Revoking PPSMI is a dumb move by the Education Minister

The move that will be taken by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to revoke PPSMI thus introducing 'Dasar Memperkasa Bahasa Melayu Memperkukuh Bahasa Inggeris' (MBMMBI) is a dumb move which will backfire on the development of the students in mastering Science and Mathematics in English.

Just because he is a Tan Sri, the Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Education does not make him an intelligent human being!

However, the dumbest move had been reigned by Anwar Al Jub when he forced us students about 2 decades ago, to speak the STUPID Bahasa Baku which sounded more like a mentally retarded Indon lover.

A tribute to Sukma Dermawan who had been his loyal lover at that good time perhaps?

PPSMI is a policy introduced by our former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and should be left alone instead of reversing it. Tun Dr Mahathir never did anything without having a good reason behind it.

The policy is good but the bad side are the policy makers who had failed to make it work. The policy makers should move heaven and earth to make it work instead of sabotaging the policy and making it fail.

Just because a few ridiculous people like A Samad Said and the minorities in the opposition who oppose PPSMI, does not mean that opposing it is a good thing which will benefit the students.

Those people are foolish and want others to be just as ignorant as them. They like it when other people are as stupid as them because stupid people can be made donkeys for them to ride on just as those who previously attended the Bersih 2.0 illegal rally.

Moreover, just look at the number of unemployed graduates due to their inability to communicate decently with the interviewer in English.

Nullifying it will make the standards of mastery of Mathematics and Science amongst the students to be worst.

Quoting Neuroscientist Professor Ishwar Parhar, head of the Brain Research Institute at Monash Sunway in New Straits Times on 24th July 2011 in the Learning Curve Section :

"Learning Science in your mother tongue may allow you to become a scientist who does experiments in the lab.

"But if you don't have a good command of the English language, you will not be able to publish in good journals and be cited," he said.

He added, "You could probably be published in local journals without good English.

"But you would have just wasted public money because your work would not be cited and you would not have excited the world with your discoveries," he said.

"Because of the Internet, thousands of papers are made available online even before they are published in journals. How are we going to keep up if we were to translate everything before studying them?"

"Children who learn Science in Bahasa Malaysia may find it confusing trying to use the Net as a research tool because the terms may not necessarily be the same.

"And they may end up not enjoying the learning process."

Let's put stupid people in power so that Malaysia will be destroyed faster

A person who is lacking in the grey matter that the policy of teaching of science and mathematics will be abolish soon by him should definitely not be the Prime Minister.

This person is a bit like Anwar Al Juburi who had previously introduced Bahasa Baku who sounded more like Indon. Giving tribute to Sukma Dermawan???

For sure he had been giving excellent service to satisfy your butt, but to force students to speak Bahasa Baku, even TV3 reporters to speak Bahasa Baku is the most dim witted act he had done when he was the Minister in the Ministry of Education.

I can't believe this imbecile can be the Minister of Education, that he had propogated and brainwashed many teachers to support him with the statement that he was the future Prime Minister of Malaysia, the puppet of Israel and CIA agent.

There had been talks, dissatisfied talks amongst the grass root about Muhyiddin Yassin. For one was about the selling of the sand to the neighbouring country who had close ties with Israel. Is that true or what?

I am sure that there are more capable leaders to be the Deputy Prime Minister rather than this fellow! I hope he won't turn out to be another Anwar Ibrahim, who is the Israel's agent who is so dumb that now he even irks the Mossad and CIA.

But he is clever and cunning in siphoning off the Jew funds to his own Swiss Account overseas. I am sure all motherfuckers who works for CIA have Swiss Accounts. I am sure most politicians here do have an overseas account too.

If anything happen to the country, they can just run away overseas and we, the ordinary folks will be left to suffer the aftermath of events.

Someone who wants to abolish a good policy is not a good leader because he would rather give in to the demands of stupid people who would like to see the Malays become even more stupid so that DAP can lure them to be communists.

I bet he will be as bad as Pak Lah who will take back research grants from university lecturers doing research to up the name of their university and Malaysia. Stupid people will do that.

By the way, last year's SPM result was the best result and the students had been the first batch who had been in the PPSMI policy.

Which language? Let parents, students vote on it

WHEN it was announced that the policy of teaching Science and Mathematics in English would be abolished, Noraini Yaacob was among the many parents who rushed to move their children from national schools to international schools.

"At one international school, more than 400 parents queued up to register their children. The ratio was about eight locals to one foreigner. Despite the long waiting list, parents were still persistent in getting their children in."

Noraini managed to put two of her three children in an international school but admitted that it was woefully expensive.

She, therefore, welcomed the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the government will study the possibility of using two mediums of instruction in schools for Science and Maths.

Two languages? How can it be executed? Should some schools teach in English, and others in Bahasa Malaysia? Or should each school offer two mediums of instruction?

Former Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan said a referendum should be held in schools.

"Science and Maths will be taught in the language agreed by parents at the referendum. As such, some schools will teach the subjects in Bahasa Malaysia and some in English."

Another option, said Ragunath, was to pick a few schools in a town or district to teach Science and Maths in English.

The third option, he said, would be to divide the number of classes in one school equally or based on needs, with some classes teaching in Bahasa Malaysia and the rest in English.

"There are three options currently in terms of the language the two subjects can be taught in at primary schools, namely Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, and Mandarin or Tamil in national type schools, so why not another option?"

He said well-to-do families had the means to send their children to international schools but the poor did not.

"This widens the divide between the rich and the poor. Every citizen should have equal means to education."

Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin said all parent-teacher associations across the country should take a stand on the matter during their annual general meetings or perhaps even call for an extraordinary general meeting.

"If the majority of parents want the two subjects to be taught in English, then let it be, or vice versa.

"Once this has been done, logistics and planning will be easier. The authorities can easily mobilise teachers, distribute books and software accordingly."

Mak said the option of choosing the medium of instruction could help the government save the millions of ringgit that had been invested.

"English-based books, materials and software need not be discarded. Also, the amount spent on training teachers to teach in English will not go to waste."

Education authorities, he said, should not assume that all rural schools wanted the subjects to be taught in Bahasa Malaysia and all urban schools, in English.

"Wherever the schools are, let the parents decide. You will be surprised with the outcome."

Parents Action Group for Education chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said each parent must be allowed to indicate to their children's school the medium of instruction that was preferred.

The school will then collate the preference and this will determine the number of Science and Mathematics classes to be conducted in Bahasa Malaysia and English.

"While most of the classes will be taught in the language chosen by the majority of parents of the school, each school will also offer a minimum of one Bahasa Malaysia and one English option class at every level."

Azimah said examination questions and textbooks could continue to remain bilingual. She stressed that a decision on this matter should be made immediately.

"The propensity to learn is highest between pre-school and primary school, and by allowing the English option to begin as soon as possible will ensure a smooth and seamless transition into Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, diploma or pre-university levels."

Azimah said the ministry should consult parents before making a decision.

"The preamble of the Education Act 1996 states: '...pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents.'"

Muhammad Haykal Muhammad Bakhtiar, 15, said, however, the students should be the ones to decide.

"I prefer it to be taught in English, so I should have that choice. The same goes for others who prefer it in Bahasa Malaysia."

New Straits Times

I would definitely send my future kids to an international school as well as I want them to master the English language.

What would you guys and gals do to ensure that your kids can master the English language?

Top jobs only for those who know the language well

By HARIATI AZIZAN and LEE YEN MUN
sunday@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: It does not matter if you are top of your class or have a string of degrees, that dream job will not be yours unless you can speak and write well in English.

Feedback from local and international employers shows that verbal and written communication skills in English remain the most sought-after attribute in prospective employees.

According to a recent Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) survey, it is the most important trait employers look for when recruiting graduates.

The MEF Salary Survey for Executives 2010 revealed that 68% of the companies surveyed named communication skills as the top quality required in job applicants, followed by working experience (67%), interpersonal skills (56.2%) and passion and commitment (55.7%).

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said globalisation had changed the nature of jobs, making communication skills, specifically in English, a valuable asset for today's worker.

He added that this was an essential criterion even for professions traditionally seen as “backroom” staff such as engineers, technical personnel and scientists. “It is especially so for those working in multinationals and bigger firms,” he said.

“Today, our clients are worldwide. In factories, for instance, engineers are a different breed from the past,” said Shamsuddin.

“Now, they have to be involved in various aspects of business and interact with clients.”

Shamsuddin expressed concern that many local graduates today could not speak or write proper English, saying this was a reason why they faced difficulties getting jobs in the private sector.

Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Melissa Norman concurred, noting that six in 10 graduates who attended its interviews could not communicate effectively in English.

The company is one of the top headhunters in the country.

Norman said it was important to master English as it was widely used among the business community, both in Malaysia and internationally.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index survey released in 2010 listed “communication skills” as one of the top five most desired skills within the corporate sector.

“We have encountered local graduates who are weak in spoken and written English and have limited vocabulary,” said Norman.

“These candidates can only manage to secure jobs in small-medium enterprises and small businesses.”

Various industry and business leaders also warned that the decline in English was affecting Malaysia's global competitiveness.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers President Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur said the young ones who could not communicate in English were unable to negotiate the best deals in business transactions or investments.

“We need to send people out to market our products, negotiate deals or get contracts signed. If they cannot communicate well in English, we will lose out,” he said.

Pemudah co-chair Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, it was important for civil servants to have a good command of English due to a growing borderless world.

“The standard of English also affects the quality of the public sector as civil servants have to interact with international citizens and the business world as well as articulate Malaysia's stand on issues to the international community. These include negotiations on important agreements such as trade agreements.”

Noting that the quality of English in the country had declined over the last two decades, former Human Resource Minister Tan Sri Fong Chan Onn warned that the country would lose out to its neighbours that did not teach English in schools previously.

“Thailand, Indonesia and China are making efforts to improve their English through their education system,” he noted.

Related Stories:
Minding our language
That special edge

That article had been taken from The Star. Anyone who are not well-versed in English will not go far in life since English is the lingua-franca and used widely around the world.

If your knowledge in English is limited, the choices in your life will also be limited as employers especially from international companies are looking for people who can converse well in English.

Don't be petty minded and follow those closed minded people who will criticize you if you converse in English.

They are actually jealous of you, that is why they bitches about you.

The detractors are actually people who cannot see anyone else go ahead in life, leaving them behind.

That is why they want to make you become worst than them. Employers even complaint that local graduates can't even answer interview questions when those questions are asked in English.

Mostly everything about anything on the internet is in English as well especially those new tech and science being researched about by scientists all around the world.

Even those criticising about PPSMI are overseas graduates and they will send off their children to study overseas when the time comes.

So, ignore those back-stabbing people who wants others to be lower than them.

Education: Give them the option to study in English Read more: Education: Give them the option to study in English

2011/04/06

DATIN NOOR AZIMAH ABDUL RAHIM, Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) Kuala Lumpur
letters@nst.com.my

WE refer to the report "Local education system ranked 8th in the world" (NST, Feb 15).

In August last year, Newsweek conducted a survey called "The world's best countries", ranking 100 countries in terms of health, education, quality of life, economic dynamism and political environment.

It ranked Malaysia at 36th place in education with a literacy rate of 88.8 per cent and a score of 86.43.

Malaysia is ranked 8th in education only if compared with countries within the upper middle-income category, falling behind Kazakhstan, Poland, Cuba, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus. The top 10 best countries for education are Finland, South Korea, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, Estonia, United Kingdom, Ireland and Netherlands, all of which happen to be high-income nations.

Interestingly, Newsweek goes on to say that, "it's not hard to see why rich countries excel in education or why educated countries prosper but this second-tier category caught our eye. It includes a striking number of former Soviet-bloc states that have historically put high priority on science and math. Even in nations that have fallen on hard times, the fruits of this emphasis are still paying off in high test scores."

Nonetheless, it is encouraging that the government's efforts to improve students' performance towards transforming the country is a step forward in the right direction.

We strongly believe that students and parents in Malaysia should be given the option to choose English as the preferred language for learning science and math as it is the lingua franca of these two core subjects.

Studying Science and Maths in English should not be limited to the privileged few who can afford private education. Having the option would certainly fast-track Malaysia into achieving a high-income nation status.

New Straits Times, Letters To The Editor, 6th April 2011

Globalisation is another way of the colonizers of the yesteryears trying to colonize other countries.

This new modern way via the education and economy of anyone who is capable or in other words the person who has the knowledge and can compete on the global scale can work anywhere in the world.

If it were up to me, I will continue the teaching of Mathematics and Science In English and to hell with all the detractors who only wants to see the students to be stupid cows and only listen to their petty opinions.

Those who wants this policy to be reversed have their own agenda because they are mostly writers of the books in the Malay language and will get the royalty from their books if this policy is reversed.

If they are so talented, why don't they take to the task of translating the numerous Mathematic and Science books that keeps sprouting out which shows the accelerated pace of the research on both subjects are by researches that are doing serious work and have no time to dilly-dally like those who opposes PPSMI.

One more thing. If they uphold the Malay language so much, how come they went to study Shakespeare in Britain?

They are the example of people who do not want to see others do better than them when they can go to study overseas.

Mastering English will open doors of opportunities

Headhunters agree with Dr M

PETALING JAYA: Headhunters are in agreement with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that mastering English will not make Malaysians less patriotic.

Recruitment consultants said Malaysians will lose out in the global commerce game if the nation’s education system fails to emphasise English.

“We agree totally that mastering English will not make Malaysians less patriotic. In fact, it should be the reverse.

“It gives Malaysians the opportunity to extol the many good things about the country in more than one language,” said Malcolm Poole, director of multinational headhunter agency MRI Network Sdn Bhd.

Poole added that more multinational companies are basing their regional operations here.

“Hence, the ability to follow technical and scientific publications in English is essential,” he said.

Consulting director of Career Builders Consulting Sdn Bhd Gopa­lan Nair said even though Bahasa Malaysia has been accepted as a unifying language that promotes nation building, English is important for commerce in a globalised world.

“We should not shy away from it,” said Gopalan.

Kelly Services managing director Melissa Norman described limited proficiency in English as highly detrimental and a handicap in business.

“Mastering another language does not make anyone less patriotic. On the contrary, it helps to widen one’s global perspective and strengthens personal development,” she said.

The headhunters were responding to Dr Mahathir’s statement in The Star on Monday that learning Science and Mathematics in English does not make Malaysians less patriotic.

The Internet and globalisation propogated by the developed nation who once had been colonizers of various nations, opens up doors of opportunities where anyone who have the skills and abilities to master English will have the upper hand compared to others who can only master one language.

It is so ridiculous and laughable to equate mastering English with being less than patriotic towards our nation. Personally for me, if I can have my way, I would master French, Arabic, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin and many more.

Language is the key to knowledge. Mastering languages will mean that you will be able to be more knowledgeable because you can read in various languages and gain more information about matters of your interest.

For instance, our colonial masters were British and if our leaders who had fought hard to gain sovereignty of Tanah Melayu, now known as MALAYsia after its independance, had not known how to communicate in English and can only communicate in Malay, how can they secure Malaysia's independance then?

Only donkeys or brainless fools will think that because they are petty-minded and cannot converse well, what more to write or read in English because they do not understand heads or tails of any English article or any reference books in the university which are mostly in English.

Therefore, they will feel threatened and will criticise anyone who are far better than them because they are losers who will never do anything to upgrade themselves or motivate themselves to be better than who they are now.

They feel good when they belittle others because they are actually little or of no significance.

Therefore, to hell with all the detractors and let us move forward so that we will be better than those who are wasting their time whining when they could have just read and learn to make themselves better than others.

Don't be jealous of other races that are successful because they are not like you. They work hard and don't waste time whining like a baby and finding excuses to waste time becoming a Mat Rempit or Mat Ganja!

For instance, if a Malay can only master the Malay language, and only gets credit for it in SPM and only pass the English language, how can they compete with someone from the Chinese or Indian or Eurasion race who can master at least two or three languages; Malay, English, Mandarin or Tamil?

In the globalised world, the one who are better than others will move ahead and you who are not well-equipped will be left behind.

So, change and be prepared to work as hard as the Chinese instead of complaining when the problem is yourself who are lazy.

Let us move forward with PPSMI

Those who opposes PPSMI are truly one sandwich short of a picnic. This definitely means that I am all for PPSMI because I see the good in what the policy will bring compared to the detractors of this wonderful policy.

Yes, there are pros and cons in everything but if there are more pros than cons in this policy, why should you be the one who would undermine it thus being a traitor of your own race by oppossing it?

This policy is for the good of our people, the Malays specifically and for the Malaysians in general. Think for once. Generally, the majority of the Malays can only converse and write well in Malay. They cannot speak or write well in English, especially the younger generations.

Remember about the graduates who cannot get jobs until now because they cannot answer their job interview well? Don't deny it because it does happen.

Last June, Raja Zarith Sofiah Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah had delivered a royal lecture at the 19th Malaysian English Language Teaching Association or better known as Melta International Conference.

Malaysia in comparison to China and Indonesia which had been catching up fast in becoming more proficient in the command of the English language, had fallen far behind and moving in the opposite direction.

Raja Zarith said that many are reluctant to participate in international conferences due to having no confidence in speaking up and writing reports in English and one of the ways to boost their confidence in speaking in English is by asking them to regularly present in front of the class.

With good command of the language, she said that the language can be used to communicate the peaceful religion of Islam and correct the stereotypes and misconceptions about Muslims and Islam post-9/11.

Malaysian Muslims can then tell the world that we do not prescribe to the doctrine of terrorism.

I want to share this eye-catching article I had found with my readers about a father's positive experience of PPSMI in Math & Science in English.

I provide for you the statistics of the number of pupils who had answered their UPSR exams for the year 2008 and 2007.

In 2008, the number of pupils who answered totally in English for Science are 31.1%. Those who answered in Malay are 16.5% whereas the candidates who answered in a mix of English and Malay are 52.4%.

For 2007, only 18.2% of the students answered in a mix of Malay and English in 2007.

For the Mathematics paper, for 2008 UPSR, 53.4% of the pupils had answered in a mix of Malay and English in comparison to 10.5% in 2007.

A significant increase can be seen in the competency of the pupils in answering the questions in English thus proving that we reap what we sow.

Those students are amongst the first batch of students who followed the PPSMI programme in 2003 from Year 1.

This is such a disturbing news because the world is now being propogated with globalisation which means anyone can enter any country which is now borderless and if you cannot even talk in English, how are you going to compete with those people who can speak in 4 or even 5 languages?

The upper hand will be the other races here because they can speak their mother tongue; either the Chinese language or the Tamil language plus the Malay and English language unlike the Malays who can only speak Malay.

Tun Dr Mahathir had given us a challenge when he proposes PPSMI which means that he has the trust in us that we, the Malays can rise to his challenge and do it with flying colours if we really put our minds into it.

Harimau Malaya had won AFF-Suzuki Cup after 14 years of failure and if they can do it, so can the students provided that they work hard to excel in PPSMI.

In conclusion, it is an understatement to say that pupils cannot learn Mathematics and Science in English effectively because as the Malay saying goes "Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya".

Continue with PPSMI

Teach Maths and Science in English

I REFER to the letter “What’s the criteria to assess an education policy?” (The Star, Oct 12) and I agree with the writer that six years is too short to determine that PPSMI is not suitable and call for its abolition.

As we are approaching 2012, the year that the Government will revert the teaching of Science and Mathematics to the Bahasa Malaysia medium, parents and students who wish to continue these two subjects in English are hoping for a miracle – that the Government will make a U-turn before it is too late.

Many parents have started looking for alternatives. Those who can afford to pay RM30,000 per year in school fees, are opting for international schools, others opt for private schools or studying in our neighbouring country. Some also choose home schooling which follows the overseas syllabus.

This leaves only those who can’t afford expensive school fees to turn to our local schools. If the school is the cradle to cultivate the 1Malaysia spirit, I can’t see how this can be done through so many different types of school and syllabuses.

Students have limited time to cope with so many subjects. They can’t afford to waste time doing translation. We must be clear that most of the books and materials related to these two subjects are available in English.

Our education system needs a change to provide the young generation a platform to compete with others in this globalised world, or we will see our children becoming “workers” for our neighbouring nations.

I believe the way to reach our Wawasan 2020 objective as a developed country lies in education. We were on the right track when PPSMI was implemented, so why are we killing the future of our nation?

PARENT,
George Town.

The letter was published in The Star dated 14th October 2010. I am perplexed why the government is making a u turn in the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English policy.

Hopefully the policy will stay because in the long run, it will be better for the students to be fluent in both subjects in English because of many reasons.

This policy had been implemented during the tenure of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad and he is not at fault if the policy failed because the implementation of the policy is made by the policy makers who should have thought things through to implement it better instead of trying to sabotage it.

Go ahead with the teachings of Mathematics and Science in English

Don't abolish the teachings of Mathematics and Science in English! The majority of the ministers and the senators are well-versed in English.

Even KJ who opposes it can speak fluent English. So why deny the kampung folk the chance to improve themselves?

Why do they want to sabotage this good policy? Call a spade a spade.

The Bahasa Melayu fighter opposes this policy because they have their stake in writing the books in Malay. But they too are well-versed in English and studied overseas.

The other racist kiasu will love that move because the Bumiputera will be left behind further from their race.

PAGE lobbying for science and mathematics taught in English

Continue with the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English

The Malay language is the official language of Malaysia. However, why is it that many Chinese, Indians and other minorities cannot converse well in Malay? Malaysia should implement that every Malaysian should be able to converse well in Malay.

Those who failed to do that, should go back to their respective countries a.s.a.p. We must follow our neighbouring country's system, where the Chinese living in Indonesia can converse well in the Indonesian language and do not even know how to speak in their own mother tongue.

Even the British government had announced on 9th June 2010 that any immigrant coming to Britain to marry have to show they can speak English at the same level required for skilled workers under the points-based system. Read more about it here.

You are the descendants of the Chinese and Indian that was brought in by the British colonizer to take back the richness of rubber and tin mining resources to their own country to stop their country from becoming bancrupt. Read more here how the British had stolen our country's resources.

It is double-standard that the so-called fighter for the Malay language would demand our government to abolish the teachings of Mathematics and Science in English when they do not demand the abolishment of the racists vernacular schools which do not promote the integration of various races in Malaysia under one roof.

This proves that they are doing this because they are actually the leaders and supporters of the opposition or Pakatan Rakyat. They want the 2 subjects to be taught in Malay because they are getting profits from it since some of them are the writers of the books in the Malay language or they have their vested interest if this policy is abolished.

On 9th June 2010, The Star published an article titled "English is the way to go, says Johor Ruler's consort".

“They are reluctant to participate in international conferences because they have no confidence in speaking up and writing reports in English,” said the Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim’s consort.

“Post-9/11, there have been stereotypes and misconceptions about Muslims and Islam. With good English, we can tell the world that Malaysian Muslims do not prescribe to the doctrine of terrorism.”

“Nevertheless, education is always dynamic. Teachers need to be aware of the latest happenings in order to keep up with the students nowadays,” she added.

We will witness the degradation of the English language mastery amongst the youths and students, our university ranking in the world university ranking will drop down like a smelly jackfruit if the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English is abolished.

Therefore, I am against the decision of Muhyidin Yassin to cancel the policy because that is a very unintelligent move. We have to be realistic where English is the language of education and the lingua franca of the world today. How can we compete in a globalised world if we are not well-versed in English and cannot understand the heads or tails of what we are reading?

Aye to the teachings of Mathematics and Science in English

The teaching of Mathematics and Science in English is one of the ways to increase the efficiency of Malaysian students so that they will be familiar with the terms and jargon used in the Science and Technology area. I am all for it and I don't care about what the detractors or minorities of this policy have to say about it.

Let's face the facts, the students in the primary and secondary school will one day move on to studying in the universities. And the real life in the universities are harder where here, the students have to count more on themselves, in terms of studying and finding out the information related to their respective courses. And most of the bulky reference books are mostly in the English language. Now, you will get no help from anyone if your command of the English language is lacking.

The total votes of 100,204 visitors that had cast their votes of whether the people of Malaysia supports or rejects the teaching of Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia in Che Det's blog here in a box at the far right side showed us that 86% (86360) answered NO to teaching both subjects in Malay and 14% (13844) answered YES.

That means the majority of the people which is 86% of the voters had stated that they support the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English and in a democratic country, the majority rules. We have to ignore the minority which thinks that their voices should be heard because if that were the truth, then we don't need to have an election for the country because the minority will rule in their own alternate universe.

Do you know what an alternate universe is? Many sci-fis potrays it as a universe that is much like the one we are living now, but the circumstances are different. Now, the minorities are very much welcome to go and live there where in that world, they rule. The ones that is propogating this are the same as the Israeli terrorist where a small country like Israel can be terrorists and attack any unarmed volunteers in the international waters where this is a crime and against the human rights.

Just look at the rank of our universities in the world ranking here. We are nearly at the bottom with University Malaya was listed at the number 180 in 2009 compared to 230 in 2008.




Last but not least, I want to pose to you this question. Do you want the policy of teaching Mathematics and Science in English to be abolished because the side effects of this bad decision will not be seen in a day or two but in a few decades? By then the ranking of our universities will be worst to the extend that they won't even be listed at all since Malaysians cannot master the English language and cannot be leaders in the scientific research where most of the scientific research and international conferences will be conducted in the lingua franca?