This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 8, 2024 - July 14, 2024

It was at the business luncheon hosted by the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce that its chairman Antony Lee asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about his plans to “educate, shape and train the next generation of Malaysians to compete in the global economy”.

The prime minister admitted that the “pace of change has to be fast and that the use of the normal academic rigour in the past” is no longer applicable.

Anwar was the education minister from 1986 to 1991 under prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He is remembered for the Islamisation of the education system, where religious studies was given priority and students were made to take the subject. He also attempted to replace the Johor-Riau pronunciation of the national language with Bahasa Baku, which is the standard phonetic Malay, ending disastrously two years later. He also introduced moral studies, the aim being to infuse Islamic values into education, making it compulsory for all non-Muslims to take. He replaced Bahasa Malaysia (coined by prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman) with Bahasa Melayu (BM), which prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi later changed back to Bahasa Malaysia.

Now, he says, the education system needs to emphasise science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), technical and vocational education and training (TVET), engineering and artificial intelligence. He is firm that there is a need for all Malaysians to be conversant in the national language, BM, which Malaysians unanimously agree to, and thus enrol in national schools. Agreeing that the English language was relegated in importance in the quest to uphold BM, he admits that we have to “bring back the English language” and “enhance” its usage. He continues to say the government has been pushing the Dual Language Programme (DLP).

The policy of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English (Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik Dalam Bahasa Inggeris, or PPSMI) was already in place in 2003 precisely to prepare the next generation for a technology-centric future. Among the fierce opponents of PPSMI was Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM). PPSMI was short-lived. In 2009, it was abolished by the then education minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. When the DLP was introduced in 2016, ABIM again was quick to protest against it.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek appears uncommitted to the DLP, imposing a rule that all national schools must provide one mandatory non-DLP class starting with Year 1 and Form 1 beginning this year. This is affecting numerous schools in Johor, Melaka, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak and Negeri Sembilan. It is these schools that will potentially produce future workers in the STEM-related disciplines, who are already in short supply. Only Sarawak has chosen to exclusively implement the DLP; in Sabah and the peninsula, parents beg for more DLP classes. Fadhlina had closed the National STEM Centre, a collaboration between the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) and which had ambitious and dynamic plans for STEM on a national level as the name suggested.

Parents should speak up in support of the DLP because it not only gives parents a voice but it is also provided for in the Education Act 1996, where “pupils are to be educated according to the wishes of the parents”.

Anwar actively participated in protests and demonstrations against the government of the day over social and economic injustices with his war cry of “Reformasi!”. He was founder and second president of ABIM, which is renowned for its youth activism outreach through education. He was invited into Umno purportedly to counter the religious extremism of PAS but, in hindsight, he has instead fuelled the green wave, which is engulfing the popular vote.

But when parents of SK Bukit Damansara, the top primary school in Malaysia, were only toying with the idea of a silent and peaceful protest in support of DLP, they were swarmed by police and even the Special Branch. The principal was ordered to be transferred in 24 hours and immediately replaced. The message by the education minister to principals and parents was loud and clear. Do not mess with Fadhlina. This is definitely not what parents and grandparents voted for. Ironically, over the last few decades, cabinet ministers who decided on the nation’s education policies have been known to enrol their children and grandchildren in private and international schools where science and mathematics is taught in the English language.

The matriculation saga has come upon us again. The most coveted courses such as medicine are conducted in the English language, and so are the engineering and accounting streams leading to the professional examinations of the respective boards.

Has the Education Ministry done an impact study of the PPSMI, DLP and matriculation pathways on the careers of graduates? What is the use of providing for parents’ wishes in the Act when we are blatantly ignored? What is the purpose of having a National Education Advisory Council (Majlis Penasihat Pendidikan Kebangsaan) when our recommendations are shelved?

Scale up DLP, reinforce it, abolish the mandatory non-DLP class. Convince us that it is not contradictory to promote DLP and insist on a non-DLP class. Douse the fire igniting the brain drain that is now an all-too-familiar phenomenon.

Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim is chairman of the Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia, an educational lobby group that serves as a channel between concerned parents, the Ministry of Education and other educational stakeholders

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