In the midst of trying to agree to disagree

“There is no such thing as complete freedom in the name of human rights because freedom of expression also comes with conditions."

Its an utter disappointment for me when I read the statement made by PKR's communication director Nik Nazmi. His view against  PPSMI to my astonishment amuses me much to the extent many regarded him as following the footsteps of fellows UMNO's. Such a despair to know such a brilliant person like him to have the opposing view. Unless of course, if this came from the winning party, its a norm to know their contention is what more but to uphold Bahasa Malaysia as the national language. (as if its a very huge deal)

English is the most common language used in modern sciences and mathematics. Abolishing the PPSMI is a very grave mistake ever made. Eventhough research done has shown that Malaysia has dropped significantly after the implementation of the PPSMI, one must look beyond the surface. Just because the rural parts of the country are unable to progress and excel well with English as the medium in learning Science and Maths, it is not an excuse to revert back to the former education style of teaching. Reverting this implementation which has been executed for almost 9years will be a setback for generations to come. 

He also contended that even the English speaking world is becoming more open to the teaching of "second language" such as Chinese,French or even the Quranic language. One should be very well-aware that Bahasa Malaysia no longer serves as a lingua franca in this modern world. It used to. Used. With developments increasing day by day with researches being conducted almost entirely in English, why should we be left behind just to uphold the achievements made in the past by our founding fathers in the Constitution?  

Bahasa Malaysia can be promoted in other ways and means through literacy for example. It is inarguable that Malay literacy is amazing and has been written with language that is set to mindblown the readers. But to say that it is through Bahasa Malaysia that everyone would be able to understand the subject matter in learning Science and Maths in an understatement, I see parents sending their kids for tuition to learn Bahasa Malaysia only for the main purpose of ace-ing the subject during exam. I have friends who abandoned Bahasa Malaysia right after SPM. How is then by having Bahasa Malaysia as the medium in learning Science and Maths will help to promote the language?

If its main purpose indirectly is to help the Malays ,as its a well-known fact that most Malays are the ones whom are unable to converse in English well to be compared to other races, then by abolishing PPSMI , it is the Malays who are going to suffer eventually. How? I am certainly not here to downgrade my fellow race but look at Indians, they have the capability to pick up the English language easily from friends or family. Or the Chinese whom do not fare too badly either, they will somehow acquire the language easily either through language centres or studying overseas. But what about the Malays?It is an unfortunate sight that it will the Malays who will have the difficulty in acquiring fluency in the language as they prefer to use their mother-tongue at just about everywhere. Again, im stressing that i am not trying to downgrade my own fellow race. They are indeed at last my very own race. Of course it is very hard initially but look at it in the long run, i am pretty sure it will serve us well in the near future. No offense intended. 

As much as im aware of the statement made by Prof Azizi Bari with regards to this issue, what i do not understand is how the implementation of PPSMI is going against Article 152 of the Federal Consti. Well I guess thats a hint  for me to attend more often of his Consti lectures. :D

As how my pencil has its own stand, i too have my reasons to stand on my own grounds. With the politicians obfuscating the matter, it is at the end of the day goes down to the person's ability to understand the concept of science & maths, regardless of the language in which it is taught. I am a Malay and im able to converse in both Malay and English even when i was taught in English when learning Maths and Science. I do not question the importance of English. There is no denying that it is the international language and should be pursued seriously by all.

If there's a will, there is always a way. As much as Tun Mahathir had made many mistakes during his time, the implementation of PPSMI is a very good move. As quoted by him, "In this age of science and technology, if you dont progress in science, you cannot make any progress". Its not just about benefiting this group of students or that group of students. Its more than that. Its about benefiting the nation and national progress.

But how can a person like me would be able to make a difference in this. The decision has been made regardless PAGE's initiative to make a stand on this. Just another pressing matter to be gulped down.

Hopefully the next GE would be able to make a difference in this even I doubt it will.