Nov

23

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 2025/Halatuju Pendidikan Negara Mereformasikan Pendidikan Negara
Introduction
Education is not only about academic results and many parents are so obsessed with
straight As. Education authorities seem to be agreeable with these parents and they even
go to the extent of lowering standards and passing marks. This also applies to educational
institutions of higher learning.
There are a lot more about education than just making the grades.
Why the obsession with straight As? Just let our children enjoy their time in school.
Many countries have proven that they are what they are today because of education, giving
their citizens proper, high quality and the right education.
YAB Tan Sri Dato Seri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, the Selangor Menteri Besar, in his closing
address at last Sundays Konvensyen Halatuju Pendidikan Negara -Mereformasikan
Pendidikan Negara mentioned his experience with Ukrainians and said that, 'Ukrainians do
not need English language' and I beg to differ.
Yes, just like the Japanese, South Koreans, Chinese (China), etc., they only use their own
languages in their own respective countries but when working or doing business outside
their countries they use other languages and mostly use English. I am sure the people who
came to meet with the MB used English in their meeting with the MB and his team. My son, a
medical doctor, studied medicine in Crimea State Medical University, Simferopol, Ukraine in
English. According to my son, only clinicals were conducted in Russian, their official
language, and most, if not all Ukrainians speak and write English.
He also used China as an example of how a backwards country in as recent as 1989, when
he visited that country the first time and what it is now when he visited that country again
recently, that has developed so well and is now the worlds second largest economy all
mainly because of education, i.e. educating their citizens with proper, high quality and the
right education curriculum and system.
If one watches the CCTV Channel on ASTRO, one would notice how good and be impressed
with how well the Chinese broadcasters and some of their officials speak English.
Debates on the use of English language in national schools, colleges and universities, by
people who are for and against, which have been going on for many years are still actively
going on and there do not seem to be any sign of them stopping. Maybe one could find

experts from countries that do use the native language strongly and English to join the
debate.
Whilst the Ministry of Education has made a policy decision to stop the use of English
language in national schools since 1982 when Bahasa Malaysia fully replaced English as the
main language used, they themselves seem to be unsure whether to actually stop the use or
to continue the use of the language. As such, from time to time, flip flop policies were
introduced and implemented, confusing students and angering parents and teachers. To
complicate matters and realising that the lack of mastery in English among our students,
from primary to university levels, several stop-gap measures were introduced and
implemented by the ministry and spending a lot of money on them and the results or
outcome are still zero, zilch!
Even as recent as last week the Deputy Prime Minister who is also the Education Minister
and his team were still evaluating programmes in Australia on the use of English language
for use in national schools.
Our countrys education policy was changed after in the early 70s and the one major change
was to switch the use of the main language from English to Bahasa Malaysia. Fast forward to
the 21st century, about 40 years or so later, the Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA) latest report place our countrys education level at 55 out of 77
countries, i.e. in the bottom third and in the report prepared by Times Higher Education
(THE) World University Rankings 2012 - 13, our universities are not even listed in the top 400
in the world. If these are not the consequences of the policy change that the country has
made in education, what are they then?
Heres an example of how bad Malaysian English is now:

Illustration 1 Example of Malaysian English (Manglish)

I can give many more examples but let me stop at just one to save space.
See my article in The Star, Wednesday January 5, 2011, Mangling the language here:
http://thestar.com.my/english/story.asp?file=/2011/1/5/lifefocus/7710711&sec=lifefocus

Besides other contributors, I wrote many articles on the importance of English in both the
Star and The New Straits Times since the past eight years which anyone of you can refer to. I
am also a columnist in Mind Our English, a weekly column in The Star.
How would the people and the authorities, including politicians, who were and are
responsible for the countrys national education system feel about that?
Are they going to wait another 40 years and see the standard drop even further before a
drastic change is made?
If the switch to BM was able to lift our standard of education or at least maintain our high pre
- 70s level when we were considered and acknowledged as country with one of the best
education systems in the world, then why are we now placed in the bottom third, 55th out of
77 countries, by PISA and that and our universities are not even listed in the top 400 in the
world by Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2012 - 13?
After that, she always talks about her container boyfriend to her friends.
Where did we go wrong?
What we all want
Sentiments must be put aside and we must now correct and improve the situation as soon
as possible.
I am not suggesting that we go back to the old pre - 70 policy of again and neither am I
suggesting that we downgrade BM to be subservient to English language. What I am
suggesting is to leave BM as the predominant language used in school but increase the
number of subjects taught in English so that pupils and students can be bilingual, good in
both languages.
BM, our national language, is not just a symbol of our sovereignty; it is also a symbol of our
sprit and glory as an independent nation. As good citizens, all Malaysians must respect,
know and use the national language. It is part and parcel of nation building.
However, mastering, showing respect and using the national language are not the only
determinants to build nationhood; the country must also continue to prosper, enjoy
continued peace and harmony, especially in a multi-racial country like ours and, be able to
compete with other countries and on a level playing field. Our leaders must not just think of
the country in isolation because we are now living in a globalised and borderless world. The
world is now our stage, not just the country. Therefore, learning and using another
language, in a particular a global language like English, for example, is necessary in order
for us to achieve prosperity and wealth and will allow our people the edge to compete with
all the countries in the world, especially the developing and the developed countries, and
stand a good chance of winning. We need to generate funds from outside the country as well
as within. Our economic growth needs all that.
Using another language such as English language widely will not have any adverse effect on
our people nor will it erode our values. In fact, the real effect or some may say consequence,
will be the exact opposite.
Lets first list down what the people want and items/problems that education at school up to

university level can solve and see the resolution derived from the convention held last
Sunday addresses all of them:
WHAT WE WANT:
1. World class quality education at all levels (celik ilmu) including pre-school education, and
a system that offers a holistic and well-rounded education system.
2. Educated society, creative and innovative
3. Independent and do not hold to subsidy syndrome (boleh berdikari)
4. Students must be an all-rounder and are able to compete globally on equal terms with
people from other countries
5. Civic mindedness (respect and care for public property, no-littering, etc.)
6. Scientists and other professionals who are able to communicate at international level with
written thesis and research papers, for example, acceptable by specialised, exclusive and
established educational journals at international level and by top universities
7. IPTAs to make the cut into the top 100 universities in the world
6. Law abiding citizens
5. Caring society
6. Good, loyal and responsible citizens and able to contribute to the nations development
7. Solidarity (perpaduan): regardless of race, language or religion (Saling hormat
menghormati antara: bangsa, budaya dan agama)
8. Bilingual (multi-lingual)
9. Not corrupt
10. Instill in our young integrity and confidence
And address the common problems that we always see now as follows:
1. Mat Rempits
2. Snatch thefts
3. Baby dumping
4. Wife beating
5. Single mothers
7. Drug addiction
8. School bullies, playing truant, vandalism, etc.
9. Reckless drivers, road bullies, speeding unnecessarily, beating red lights, cutting lanes,
road hogging,
10. Cheating
11. Child abuse
12. Vandalism
13. Ill-mannered
14. Unethical
15. Selfish
etc.
The lists above are not exhaustive, more items can be added.
Good national (primary and secondary) schools
My proposal and what I think a good national school system should be like is as follows:
Good national (primary and secondary) schools should be:
National schools (primary and secondary) are for all Malaysians, the government offer free
education for all Malaysian citizens from Standard One to Form Five and no segregation

whatsoever regardless of race, language or religion.

Pre-school education is also offered free to all citizens between the ages of 4 and 6 years
old.
1. All programmes (Syllabus/curriculum/co-curriculum) for national schools (primary and
secondary) must be designed so that they attract the majority (students as well as parents)
and be the preferred choice of schools of all, must be able to be institutions to develop
solidarity and togetherness among citizens of all races. Have also programmes for gifted
students and students with special needs.
2. All national schools must be bilingual (BM and BI - equal content) and also offer
vernacular and foreign language as options.
3. Offer and conduct holistic teaching methods.
4. Co-ed (preferably).
5. Teach/practise/conduct/run ethics programmes.
6. Do away with Moral education and replace it with community education or community
service at secondary level.
7. Have qualified physical education teachers for PE and sports like in advanced countries
and not just get subject teachers to double up as PE teachers. (Sports in our country can
reach greater heights - employ ex-soldiers and ex-policemen who are certified physical
education instructors and sports coaches).
8. Infrastructure must be complete, well maintained and serviceable all the time.
9. School principals must be appointed from the teachers rank, they must be qualified
(graduates - minimum first degree) and have enough experience. It will be good if they are
sent for approved management courses locally or overseas.
10. Offer outdoor study for science, geography and general knowledge lessons.
11. Have properly constructed and fully equipped science laboratories (for secondary
schools).
12. Technical and vocational schools must have properly constructed and fully equipped
workshops and kitchen for schools offering F & B services related courses (for secondary
schools).
13. All schools must have internet connection/services IT facilities and enough
computers/servers and manned by qualified and experienced technicians.
14. Schools must offer basic music programmes and have a brass band/regimental bands, all
schools must at least have one piano for use in music programmes.
15. All students must be exposed to the national culture and custom as well as the culture
and custom of all races and all ethnic groups in the country.
16. Schools must offer sports activities/programmes and facilities such as standard size
football field, running tracks, badminton courts and have qualified coaches (however, if land
is limited, these facilities can be shared with three or four schools within the vicinity).
17. Enough supply of all school textbooks.
18. All schools must have well equipped, well managed and well maintained library, proper
reading room and internet access.
19. Every school district must have a resource centre.
20. Have national examination at end of Year Six and upon completing Form Five (SPM).
21. All schools must have well equipped, well managed and well maintained library, proper
reading room and internet access.
22. All teachers (all must be graduates - minimum first degree) must be well trained and
well paid. They must serve a school for a minimum of 7 years before they are transferred
elsewhere; this is to make sure that the turnovers of teachers in rural schools are not too
quick.
23. Practise meritocracy strictly.
24. No quota system.

25. All primary school pupils must be taught and trained to swim and have one swimming
pool for every 26. Have swimming pools for every 20 - 25 schools or one swimming pool per
district.
27. Ensure all schools are secured and safe (employ ex-soldiers and ex-policemen who are
trained in security and safety).
Language:
Bahasa Malaysia
Everyone loves Bahasa Malaysia (BM) as the national language but can BM alone make our
people qualified and be able to compete globally on level terms with people from other
countries especially the western countries and can it also make our country understood by
others outside Malaysia. How do you suggest we overcome the expected communication
problems when we have to communicate with people outside Malaysia who do not use BM
and our people only know one language, i.e. BM?
English language/foreign languages/vernacular languages
There are a lot of confusion about the objective of teaching and learning English in Malaysia
and this has more or less resulted in the teaching and learning of English in schools being
done in a half-hearted way very much unlike how Bahasa Malaysia is taught in national
schools which is intensive, comprehensive and complete.
The new MBMMBI (To uphold Bahasa Malaysia and to Strengthen the English language)
policy introduced to all national schools this year is seeing only this part, To uphold Bahasa
Malaysia, being looked into intensively and the other part, Strengthen the English
language is not given enough attention. Ironically, this is what is described in the policy,
Proficiency in English language is important because English is the international language of
communication. Mastering the language enable the accumulation of knowledge which is
vital for one to compete nationally and globally.
There are many reasons for that and one of the main reasons is the lack of qualified
teachers to teach English at national schools. Secondly, and I think, more importantly,
politics has entered into education which has restricted the teaching of English in national
schools difficult and yes, there are conflicts, a major one. Some Malay language nationalist
are totally against the teaching of English and some even brand people who learn English
and who use English regularly as non-patriotic and traitors, and as people who embrace
colonialism. However, it has not reached the stage of creating tension between the people
from the various communities and ideologies.
Question (asked at one of the education forums I attended last year): Would you say there
is a big public concern about the level of competence of English and would concepts like
Malaysian English come into the debate as a legitimate yardstick? Establishing yardsticks
may help learners acquire a good English base they can use to move on to forms that are
indeed more adequate for mathematics, sciences, medicine, engineering, technology, etc.?"
Answer: Yes, the general public is concerned with the poor command of English among
Malaysians especially among graduates so much so that many civil servants who go for
conferences, forums, meetings, etc. outside the country, due to their poor command of the
language, choose to be quiet and they do not participate actively in those events. So, when
they return home, all they have to show are the notes they receive in their complimentary
or goody bags.

I see a need to go back to square one in the learning of English, not just for pupils in
national primary schools but also our young students and undergraduates in secondary
schools, colleges and universities. They must get the concept clear and that there is no
other better ways in learning English effectively than knowing its alphabets, grammar,
spelling and dictation, vocabulary, composition, reading, writing and speaking, intonation
and pronunciation, at least.
Schools here however teach communicative English.
One reason why many foreigners do not understand the way Malaysians speak, (and some
Singaporeans) too is because of their bad pronunciation and intonation of English words.
Examples: tuition [tyoo- sh-uhn] instead of [too-ish-uhn]; children [chu-ruhn] instead of [childruhn]. Schools in Malaysia and Singapore do not put enough attention on pronunciation and
intonation when teaching English. Other problems are the wrong use of terminologies and a
simple example are bonnet and boot (trunk) of cars which many here refer the latter to
the boot (trunk) of a car and when corrected, they just will not accept it. Lately, I met
someone, an English school teacher, who mistook janitor for handyman and she insisted
that she was right. Many here do not know how to use effect and affect and many too,
when they refer to a couple, they always mean many and not just two. All these and
more may be confusing to foreigners.
By year 2016, all the 45 MRSM will be offering IGCSE and perhaps also Cambridge A levels.
The authority should consider increasing the non-Bumi quota to 35% to be reflective of the
population racial mix.
Admission should be based purely on merit and not based on social and economic status.
Only STPM, Cambridge A level or UEC be used as pre-requisites for entry into all local public
universities (IPTA).
Back door entry or entry via matriculation and foundation studies should be stopped and
replaced with STPM or Cambridge A levels. This is to ensure undergraduate academic
quality is increased and to meet with international benchmarking standard.
Some suggestions and proposed solutions: Looking from the outside on the situation of
education in Malaysia
(1) Implement a holistic and wholesome school curriculum and practice full meritocracy
(2) Review textbooks for schools.
Scenario: Textbooks are work-like books - its always designed for examination questions.
Solution: Textbooks are to be written with references, have solid information and are fun to
read or use as references. Get hold of old textbooks and learn how they are written.
Textbooks need not be changed every year. New workbooks are supplied for use every year
at the start of the school year.
(3) World History and Geography must also be taught to develop a wholesome individual.
Scenario: Appreciate ones history by studying other countrys history and geography. This is
necessary in the current era of a borderless world. Its knowledgeable and it will create a
more mature and well-informed society.
(4) Nature/environmental studies: Train and develop the young to appreciate nature and the
environment
Scenario: Many are ignorant about nature and the environment
Solution: School curriculum should include nature and the environmental studies to make
pupils/students aware about nature and the need to take care of the environment.

(5) Upgrading interior schools and pupils

Solution: All pupils/students in rural areas and the interior should get a fair share of proper
school amenities. Logistics - if a school lacks pupils/students in any remote area, group them
and buss all the pupils/students at the nearest government English/Kebangsaan schools.
The government can save on its education budget but the pupils/students education must
not be compromised. All facilities such as computer laboratories, playing fields, badminton
courts, etc. and pool teachers for SJK Tamil/Chinese
This also gives a chance for pupils living in estates or the interior to be exposed to the
modern world.
(6) A common KAFA curriculum: I propose for the Education Ministry to use Johors KAFA
syllabus and curriculum and adopt their agama school system. It is wholesome.
(7) What teachers should do is to just teach and carryout tasks related only to teaching, no
administrative tasks whatsoever for teachers. All administrative work should be handled by
the administrators. The training of teachers be should be done during the school holidays
unless suitable replacements are available. Students should not be deprived of lessons when
teachers are away for training. Train teacher in proper English and not just spoken English
or communication English and start from the very basic. Training of teachers should include
teaching subjects such as science, mathematics, history, geography, English language,
English literature, etc. in English.
Additional suggestions:
1.
Besides SPM, offer also Cambridge GCE 'O' and 'A' levels examinations to Form Five and
Form Six students as options. They should be allowed to sit for both examinations and if they
choose to sit for the Cambridge GCE 'O' and 'A' levels examinations perhaps, it can be at
their own expense.
2.
Entice, invite and attract retired experienced and qualified teachers to re-join the
service.
3. Set retirement age of teachers at 62 years (with option to retire at between 55 and 62).
4. No restriction in employing non-citizens as teachers if they are qualified and experienced
and they are accompanied by a good medical record.
Note: In using only BM may result in students lacking in sufficient knowledge content.
Knowledge content as in: (i) Unless they are translated into English, journals published by
our institutions of higher learning are only applicable for local use and not for use
international use because they are written in BM, since we can train and teach our students
to master English there should not be a need for translation work. They can write in good
English straightaway. Very few are written in English; (ii) More and better books, especially in
applied science (iii) educational internet content from pre-school to tertiary level, are
available in English compared to those available in BM. These are some additional reasons
why we must have an education system that place equal emphasis on Malay and English English especially for STEM subjects such as Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics. A choice of language used to learn STEM subjects must be offered to students
in national primary and secondary schools.
5. English is the lingua franca for STEM, 77% of the top 100 ranking universities in this world
offer their STEM subjects in English. These schools collaborate with each other using English.
6. English Medium schools in the past saw its acceptance by all the races in this country.
English Medium School will enhance racial integration. Tens of thousands of Johoreans
crossing our border to Singapore everyday indicate that English Medium Schools are still in
great demand.
7. All the major companies in a globalise world has some form of collaboration with each
other. Companies such as GE account for almost half of the total revenue of all our list
companies on KLSE. All the listed companies on this entire planet (including those of
Malaysia and Indonesia origin) employ people who know English and not just who only know

BM.
Note: A major problem concerning PPSMI is the perception that it will replace BI above BM in
terms importance. They dont seem to understand that PPSMI is about acquisition of
knowledge (science, mathematics & technology), and NOT about fluency in BI. To be fluent
in BI (English language), students must be taught beginning from the alphabets and the
basics/foundation of the language. Even the Education Minister himself is confused and
likewise, I recently discovered that some opposition leaders are confused too.
Pressure on IPTAs and the need to teach undergraduates to learn English
Heres a letter I wrote to the minister, Higher Education Ministry YB Dato' Seri Mohamed
Khaled Bin Nordin on July 25, 2012
Dear YB Minister,
RE: English language intensive programme for undergraduates
On 11 July 2012, in my letter, ENGLISH: Easier to learn it at a young age news@nst.com.my
, I wrote that learning a language is much easier and better at a young age when students
are in primary school rather than learning it at university. Also, it will be more effective and
more economical if remedial programmes are done at the primary and secondary school
levels, not at the tertiary level."
In the report Undergrads to boost their English skills by HASHINI KANNAN AND LAVANYA
LINGAN, NST 18 June 2012, news@nst.com.my, it was stated that the Higher Education
Ministry has come up with an English language programme meant for students entering
university known as English for Employment to meet the requirements of the working
world under a new system which classifies students according to their levels of competency.
"English For Specific Discipline" will be conducted in three tiers - English for Employment,
Intensive English and General English, as formulated by the Ministry of Higher Education.
However, the Higher Education Ministry director-general Professor Datuk Dr Rujhan Mustafa
also told the New Straits Times that the system will not penalise those with a lower
command of the language as the IE course is not part of the credit hours that determine
their Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) and I think this is counter-productive.
Basing on that, I issued a warning in my letter by saying that many undergraduates in public
universities (ITPAs) will not give a hoot about that programme.
A recent check I carried out with some community colleges on the number of students who
have signed up there to do a two-month English language crash course confirmed my fear. It
is most saddening to note that the advice by the Higher Education Ministry director-general
to new university students with a low English competency to enroll for crash courses at
community colleges was not taken seriously and they received only very poor response.
Some of the community colleges did not even get any response at all. Maybe the future
university students feel that it is below them to attend courses at community colleges.
The Higher Education Ministry and higher learning institutions should look for a long-term
solution by working with the Education Ministry and start the English programme from Year
One.

Learning a language, especially a working language, is better conducted in primary schools

than in universities.
The Malaysian University English Test (MUET), which is an entrance requirement for public
universities, will determine the classifications when this English learning and teaching
system is implemented in September.
Those with MUETs Bands 5 and 6 passes are considered competent and will be prepared for
the working world and they are exempted from taking the course.
Students with MUETs lower Bands 1 and 2 passes will attend the Intensive English (IE)
course to strengthen their basic command of the language.
MUETs Bands 3 and 4 achievers will have General English to learn communication skills.
At the end of this course, students competency is expected to jump to at least the Band 3
level.
In another report taken from The Star, Sunday July 22, 2012, English challenge at IIUM
written by AMINUDDIN MOHSIN, http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?
file=/2012/7/22/education/11698791&sec=education,
it was stated
that the proficiency in English is a prerequisite for enrolment at the International Islamic
University Malaysia, and many foreign students are taking two years to learn the language
just to gain entry.
OUR debates and complaints over the use of English in the education system tend to be
fiery and emotional, but take a step back and imagine what its like for a person with no
English background whatsoever to learn the language in under two years.
This is the reality for foreign students who want to enroll at the International Islamic
University Malaysia (IIUM). They have up to two years to become competent in English
before they can enroll in any course offered by the university. More importantly though,
these students are proving that it can be done.
IIUM Centre for Languages and Pre-University Academic Development (Celpad) dean Prof
Nuraihan Mat Daud said that over the years IIUM has nurtured many students with zero
English proficiency into confident speakers.
She added: Its a reality our university has to deal with. We have an Islamic niche and the
students that enroll here come from different parts of the Muslim world and beyond.
We have to be prepared to receive students who come from certain parts of the world that
do not speak English at all.
At the moment, students who sit for MUET, regardless how well they perform are considered
qualified by all public universities and this may render MUET totally irrelevant.
While the initiatives and efforts taken by Higher Education Ministry is highly commendable, I
believe, it should only be a temporary and not a permanent one, I would like to suggest that
a six month intensive English language programme before students are sent to their
respective faculties as a better alternative. This programme can be conducted without
extending the duration students would need to complete their first degrees at the faculties
of their respective universities (IPTAs) by making some adjustments in the overall study

programmes and I believe, if planned properly, it may also not require any additional
budget. However, if the six month intensive programme that I am proposing is approved, I
hope there should be no problem for you to approve the additional funds, additional
personnel, additional logistics support, etc. if needed, to run the programme smoothly,
successfully and effectively.
Again, for this programme, students with MUETs Bands 5 and 6 passes are considered
competent and are exempted from attending the six month intensive English language
programme but they should be encouraged to attend all the follow-up programmes.
The Deans or the Heads of Departments of the Faculties of English Language and Linguistics
or the English Language Departments of IPTAs should sit together and formulate a
programme that is suitable for undergraduates.
Students who go through the six month intensive English language programme will be
tested at the end of the course and they must attain a minimum grade, to be determined by
MOHE and the public universities as the cohorts, before they are allowed to start their
respective undergraduate courses at their respective universities. To enhance the learning
and the use of the language, regular English language workshops should be conducted two
to four times a year throughout their tenure at the universities to check their progress and
attendance at these workshops must be made compulsory for all undergraduates. Besides
that, they must also be made to attend seminars, forums, conferences and dialogue
sessions at least twice a year to make them use the language more often. Workshop
progammes should include, among others, public speaking, reading, play-acting, literature,
writing (book reviews, summaries, prcis, minutes, etc.), appreciation, creative writing,
critical thinking and critical analysis. Credits will be given to students for their attendance
that will contribute to their final CGPA grades. Students who fail to attend those workshops
will not get any credit and their final CGPA grades will be lowered accordingly.
When interviewing graduates for jobs, besides their poor oral skills, I find that many of the
candidates cannot even write a simple letter. As this is the situation, letter and report writing
should also be included in the course as well as the re-teaching them the basics of English
language such as grammar, spelling and dictation, diction, syntax, vocabulary and
comprehension to enhance their listening, reading, writing and understanding skills.
In the corporate world during the pre-internet days, letters that were written by junior
executives were checked by the senior executives, assistant managers of managers before
they were sent out. Now, with the internet, e-mails are used commonly in replace of letters
and they are normally not checked before they are sent out. So it is very important that emails are written properly to protect companies interests as these may also be used as
documents and evidence against them in case they get involved in legal cases. It is
therefore very important that company executives are trained on writing letters and
preparing other written documents properly.
Besides the activities above, since it is widely accepted that reading is a practice that will
improve ones command of the language, students must be made to read at least four books
a year and at the end of every quarter, they will be required to write a review of the books
they read. This is to inculcate reading habits in them and this activity will also be conducted
along with the other important ingredient in improving ones English, i.e. writing and to
make sure that students understand what they read. If doing this individually is going to be
cumbersome, students may be divided into groups of four or five each and make this a
group assignment project.

The test to be conducted at the end of the course will be both objective and subjective. In
addition, a practical test that includes an interview to assess their oral skills, reading,
understanding and public speaking, for example, should also be conducted. Those who fail
all these tests must be made to re-sit the course and the tests all over again until they attain
the grade required.
Referring to employability which is a point emphasised by MOHE, the English training
programme which I am proposing meets most of the requirements of the private sector and
the corporate world.
Generally, students in Malaysia go through thirteen years of education before they enter
university and they are all taught English language as a subject. However, due to the poor
syllabus, poor method of teaching and the lack of good English language teachers, which are
the normal complaints that we all hear all the time since the countrys education policy
switched to the current policy since the 70s, the general standard of English of our students
is considered very poor.
Now, it is the universities (IPTA) that have to handle the problem and shoulder the burden
which should not be the case had the Ministry of Education ensured that a better English
language syllabus, sufficient qualified teachers and proper emphasis on English language
were given at national primary and secondary schools very much like the earlier days when
our students command of the English language were at par with the best in the world. If this
was the case, local students now need not go through the proposed six month intensive
English language programme before starting their degree courses but unfortunately, due to
many not having a good command of English and some even with zero English proficiency,
they have to go through an intensive crash course and it is hoped that as they go along at
their respective faculties, they will use more English in the course of their studies and their
day-to-day life, their proficiency will increase and be as good as those who are in MUETs
Band 5 or Band 6.
Nevertheless, the six-month intensive programme that I am proposing would still be a
temporary measure as the onus is still on the Ministry of Education to come up with a proper
and suitable English language syllabus for students for Standard One to Form Five for
national schools. It is also their responsibility to prepare the proper infrastructure and make
ready all the support systems required such as language laboratories, teaching aids, supply
of qualified and experienced teachers, etc. When these are done and the products are
seen, universities may do away with the six-month English language intensive programme. It
may take between five and fifteen years to achieve that and the time taken will depend on
how committed MOE, MOHE, IPTAs and the students are.
Regardless of the scenario now, we need to check our students command of English
downward slide sooner or later, it is better if it is done sooner.
Yours sincerely
HUSSAINI ABDUL KARIM
Social Activist
Heres the contents of a letter I received from a well-travelled friend (a former Malaysian)
who now work and live in Finland):
Dear HAK,

I don't see it as a problem being multi-lingual as I have travelled the world and today live in
Finland and English has helped me tremendously.
As to using the Ukraine as an example (by YAB Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, MB Selangor)
and the other countries, even though they have a single language policy, look at their
education system, there are no cheap hand-outs of giving passing marks as low as 20 upon
a hundred. Their systems are based on merit and not the colours of the skin or NEP-ProApartheid policies that put Malaysia stuck in a rut.
Everyone I met in Europe can speak English, besides of course, their own native language.
There are no learned professors in any university in any country in Europe who cannot write
a paper in good decent English. In the case of Malaysia, many of our professors cannot do
that.
Many say that countries like China, Japan and South Korea, for example, can succeed and
become fully developed and they only use their respective native languages. I am afraid
they are wrong and I believe the people who said that have never worked with foreigners
from China, Japan and South Korea. Yes, it is true that they only use their respective native
languages but in their own countries only, but not when the have to deal with people either
in government or in business outside their country, where they use English!
We had a very good education system from the 50s-1982 which was on par with UK, USA
AND SINGAPORE, WHY did they have to go and re-invent the WHEEL?
Our country was also marked as an Asian Tiger along with Taiwan, Japan and South Korea
about 30 years ago. Those countries went on to prove it and are all already fully developed
but we only proceeded to become an old tiger and unable to prove anything worthwhile for
the tag that we were meant to be.
Where do we go from here depends on us, I say the problem is a simple one, for those
against pro-MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION can always opt out or revert back to the old system
of Malay schools, National, and Chinese/TAMIL SCHOOLS. But the bigger picture here is why
has the standard of national schools dropped so much that private international schools are
mushrooming all over the place.
Sincerely
xxxxx
Did the Malaysia Educational Blueprint 2013 2025 and the Resolusi:
Mereformasikan Pendidikan Negara address all the problems and consider all the
proposals mentioned above?
Answer: No, only some but not all and most definitely the main reasons for our
drastic drop in our peoples education level.
Minister of Education, MOE and senior members of the opposition, please address all that.
HUSSAINI ABDUL KARIM, Social Activist, Shah Alam

Posted 23rd November 2012

http://hak55.blogspot.com/2012/11/malaysia-education-blueprint-2013.html
Accessed on 23 Jun 2014