Jimmy Leow

The differences between a PKR and BN dinner during campaigning in the Bukit Selambau by election was plenty as CJ Lim Boo Seng and I witnessed last night. We did a coverage at the PKR dinner and the atmosphere there was thunderous and cheerful, people shaking hands with PKR’s officials and so forth. Even the reporters looked lively and jovial. According to a PKR official, there were 106 tables (1060 seatings) and every seat was taken.

I noticed that the itinerary of the event was important and there were some differences in the way both parties arranged them. For example, PKR would get all the big guns to finish their speeches and then serve food. While MCA served food as they addressed the crowd.

Over at MCA’s dinner, much to our amaze, the crowd was very quiet, everyone seems attentive, well to the food, that is. Even when Ong Tee Keat was giving his speech, there was no reaction from the crowd. I believed the crowd figure was approximately 600.

The worst part was, when BN candidate S. Ganesan was giving his speech, some supporters had left, in particular the table right in front of us. Was that a sign of rejection? Well, we will know come 7 April 2009.

The only good thing that happened during the MCA dinner was a surprising statement by Mrs S. Ganesan in Hokkien and she spoke the dialect well. And that brought some cheers from the crowd. Maybe she should be the candidate for BN in this by election….

“If they (BN) offer free food, go and eat! If they give money, take it and spend it, why worry? By the way, the money is actually from people like you and me, so what is wrong? But vote PKR ok?” said a 70 Pak Haji that I came across at Youth Park Hill 3 this morning.

It was reported in The Sun today that English was the language of choice for 92.7% out of 53,638 students who took the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) in 2008 – an increase of 0.8% compared to the previous year.

In fact, there has been a steady increase of STPM students who opted to answer in English. In 2006 and 2007, a total of 85.6% and 91.9% of students respectively answered in English.

It is good to note that 36,470 (67.99%) of students were bumiputra candidates, 12,484 (23.27%) were Chinese, 3,884 (7.24%) Indians and 800 (1.49%) were from other races.

So, I don’t see the point why people go against Maths and Science being taught in English. Why all the protests and when it is shown here that the young generation wants English as the universal tool to communicate with rest of the world.

And most importantly, getting a spot in a overseas university. But does it mean that they will forget the national language, Bahasa Melayu I asked a colleague of mine the other day.

“No !” said Abdul Radzif, aged 48, a father of four. His sons are currently studying in higher learning establishments. ”Tell me, why is there a problem teaching Maths and Science in English? You think you can go to overseas to continue your studies with an A+ in Maths and Science in Bahasa Melayu? And when that time comes, you think you can brush up your English to fit in and be competitive?” he said in disgust.

“I am English ed all this while, but it does not mean that we Malays abandon of our mother tongue or forget who we are, how absurd can they get? This issue is politically motivated.” he added.

The GMP issued a memorandum to the King, asking for the abolishment of PPSMI, I would like to share a few of the topics here,

“4. Keputusan PPSMI yang dibuat dalam tahun 2003 itu dibuat dengan mengejut tanpa apa-apa perbincangan, tanpa apa-apa perundingan dengan pakar-pakar pendidikan dan bahasa, tanpa memikirkan baik buruknya terhadap bahasa Melayu dan terhadap pelajar dan guru yang telah cukup biasa mengajar dan belajar sains dan matematik dalam bahasa Melayu di Sekolah Kebangsaan (atau dalam bahasa ibunda di Sekolah Jenis-Kebangsaan Cina dan Tamil) selama lebih 37 tahun!”

“8. Setelah enam tahun berjalan, PPSMI masih tidak berkesan dan banyak menimbulkan masalah yang kebanyakannya tidak didedahkan kepada umum. Pengumuman Keputusan UPSR Tahun 2008 menunjukkan hanya 31.1% (159,234) murid sahaja daripada 511,875 murid Tahun 6 yang menjawab Kertas Sains dalam bahasa Inggeris. Ini bererti sebanyak 68.9% (352,641) murid tidak menjawab dalam bahasa Inggeris. Ini bukti kegagalan mengajar sains dan matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris, walaupun dipaksakan kepada pelajar itu.”

If it is about achieving goals, any language will do, as long as the education system is intact. But I have the opinion that we must emphasize on allocating the top students in our own universities no matter where they are from.  In this context, race and religion should not be discriminated at all cost.