Matematik dan Sains dalam Bahasa Melayu dan Prime-Minister-non-elect Najib

Topic: PPSMI

Helen Ang made a good case for teaching Science and Math in Malay. Among the facts I had not been aware of were that the decision was made unilaterally by the out-going PM, Dr Mahathir in 2003, and that no studies nor consultations had been carried out prior to implementation. Considering that the decision affected millions of school teachers, administrators, school children and their families, it's mind-boggling that the order of one man could be carried out with no extensive preparation beforehand. Malaysia Boleh.

The majority of Malaysian teachers do not have a good enough command of English to be teaching it to anyone. As a product of the city, it's easy for me to forget that, having been immersed in the language to the extent that Malay has not been my primary language since I was 3 years old. But most Malaysians don't live in cities and many are doubly disadvantaged by having to learn difficult subjects in a foreign tongue. At the moment, I think it may be better to revert to teaching the subjects in Malay for most, but retain the option of learning the English terms and answering exam papers in English.


Topic: Najib

The International Headline Tribune published a brief but interesting article today. Najib's wife, Rosmah was interviewed about the upcoming power transfer and had this to say:

"Let's not do anything unethical to stop it. It is his turn," Rosmah said in her first interview with an international news agency.

If "God says it is his turn, it is his turn," Rosmah added. "That is the thing we all have to accept, because when (Abdullah became leader) ... we believed that it was his time, his destiny and we went on with our lives."

(IHT, March 13, 2009)

Obviously, she believes it is Najib's right to be Prime Minister. (Don't we wish we had the right to elect our own Prime Minister??) And apparently they had expected to be in power when Mahathir stepped down but Abdullah Badawi was chosen instead. I actually view her words as a veiled threat. Don't you dare stand in our way, or else. Is anyone thinking of a certain Mongolian lady here?