Sumber: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my (Published on: Thursday, April 01, 2010)
Kota Kinabalu: The Association of Sabah National Type Chinese School Management Committee (Dong Lian) has urged the Education Ministry to reconsider its decision to teach secondary school students Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia starting next year, especially government-aided schools in Sabah and Sarawak.
The call was among resolutions passed at its annual meeting (AGM) at the Kota Kinabalu High School, on Saturday.
In a statement, Wednesday, Dong Lian President, Datuk Wong Yit Ming, said this was in view of the fact that Sabah and Sarawak are different from Peninsular Malaysia as English is still widely used by the government departments and agencies, and even the State Legislative Assembly and courts.
“Besides, a majority of the parents whether bumiputera or non-bumiputera like their children to better master the English language as the leading and most important international language,” he said.
He added it was proven during the British colonial era as well as in the first 10 years after the formation of Malaysia that teaching of Maths and Science in one’s mother tongue at primary school level and in English at secondary school level produced commendable results.
This is also one way of uplifting the standard of the English language among students. “Sabah and Sarawak have always enjoyed a special privilege of using English, when Malaysia was formed in 1963,” he noted.
Towards this end, he said Dong Lian had proposed that the Education Ministry look into the possibility of having two Secondary Education Systems, one using Bahasa Malaysia for teaching of Mathematics and Science and another using English.
The other resolution passed urged the Education Department to reconsider the teaching of English in the Chinese Primary Schools from 60 minutes to 180 minutes next year, instead of 120 minutes as proposed by the Education Department.
Wong pointed to the fact that the Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, had promised to allocate more English lessons after the Education Department decided to abolish the unpopular teaching of Mathematics and Science in English in Chinese Primary Schools.