The verdict is out! The Malaysian government has decided to revert the teaching of science & mathematics in both primary and secondary in English back to Bahasa Malaysia (BM); note that this is the second time the English-BM reversion has happened. GMP [Gabungan Mansuhkan PPSMI (Pengajaran & Pembelajaran Sains Dan Matematik Dalam Inggeris)], the movement who wanted BM to be used as the sole language of instruction in all subjects taught in school are rejoicing that the decision was made in their favor.
This begs the question: bagus ke tak bagus? My take: BAGUS!
Odd, you may think that I agree with the government's decision since I dreaded learning Fizik, Kimia, Biologi & Matematik Tambahan in BM (I was in the second last batch before PPSMI was implemented in 2003) and had to "translate" all this knowledge to English when I entered INTEC & later at Penn State University. I have to say I was one of the lucky ones to have been taught English by my family when I was small so I was competent enough to switch between languages when it matters.
Some of my friends who are currently studying in the States are against this reversal since they know the uphill struggle of going to and fro between BM and English especially in the field of science where technical terms and definitions are the norm. They might overcome the whole word translation shenanigan but weaving those jargons together into sentences, heck even essays, would present a greater challenge in an already independent environment that is of university life. But what about the millions of Malay, Chinese and Indian school-goers back at home: have we ever thought of what they are going through?
Syahredzan Johan made a good point that the problem with PPSMI was the poor implementation rather than the concept itself and this has caused major problems to the students and teachers ("Tikus-Tikus Ujian PPSMI") as the statistics have shown. His musings make sense and I would like to pull this issue into a larger context i.e. this is intrically connected with the tertiary education, the workforce and ultimately the Malaysian identity. Here's my breakdown of these three entities:
Tertiary Education
The problem arises post-SPM where colleges and universities are in a tug-of-war between teaching courses in BM or English since most text books in specialized courses are in English and no effort are being made to translate these books into BM. In some cases, you would have students reading English text books and BM notes from the instructors! Thus, a similar decision must be made in line with the non-teaching of PPSMI in school because you just don't want students to be still confused jumping from one language to another, do you?
Workforce
This is another area where the English-BM paradox applies. The over-emphasis of employers on an applicant's proficiency of English had struck fear onto people's minds that if you have major problems in speaking and writing in English, you can look forward to a career in flipping Ramly burgers. So, why take all the hassle learning in-depth BM when you already speak the language and when your future employers treasure English like the 16th-century Portuguese treasure Melaka?
Identity
And these two areas led me to the Malaysian mentality and identity; bangsa Malaysia. The paradox I mentioned just now surmises that we love our bahasa but somehow we put our colonial master's language as number one hence the problems in college syllabus and getting a job. Whose expectation was it that all Malaysians must be good in English? We are learning a totally different language and not everyone can master it even after 11 years of schooling. It's not a video game where you can master it in a couple of hours, it's a LANGUAGE!
This is a matter of self-realization and soul searching for each and every Malaysian to decide whether to put Bahasa Malaysia or English on the throne; if we collectively decide that BM is the king, implement a pro-BM policy for the whole nation i.e. prioritize our mother tongue in books, billboards, forums and resumes. Of course you can still learn English (or any other language as guaranteed by the Perlembagaan) and strive to be fluent at it but at the rate we were going, we are as much eroding our own cultural identity as we are ignoring our language.
Remember: Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa.
This begs the question: bagus ke tak bagus? My take: BAGUS!
Odd, you may think that I agree with the government's decision since I dreaded learning Fizik, Kimia, Biologi & Matematik Tambahan in BM (I was in the second last batch before PPSMI was implemented in 2003) and had to "translate" all this knowledge to English when I entered INTEC & later at Penn State University. I have to say I was one of the lucky ones to have been taught English by my family when I was small so I was competent enough to switch between languages when it matters.
Some of my friends who are currently studying in the States are against this reversal since they know the uphill struggle of going to and fro between BM and English especially in the field of science where technical terms and definitions are the norm. They might overcome the whole word translation shenanigan but weaving those jargons together into sentences, heck even essays, would present a greater challenge in an already independent environment that is of university life. But what about the millions of Malay, Chinese and Indian school-goers back at home: have we ever thought of what they are going through?
Syahredzan Johan made a good point that the problem with PPSMI was the poor implementation rather than the concept itself and this has caused major problems to the students and teachers ("Tikus-Tikus Ujian PPSMI") as the statistics have shown. His musings make sense and I would like to pull this issue into a larger context i.e. this is intrically connected with the tertiary education, the workforce and ultimately the Malaysian identity. Here's my breakdown of these three entities:
Tertiary Education
The problem arises post-SPM where colleges and universities are in a tug-of-war between teaching courses in BM or English since most text books in specialized courses are in English and no effort are being made to translate these books into BM. In some cases, you would have students reading English text books and BM notes from the instructors! Thus, a similar decision must be made in line with the non-teaching of PPSMI in school because you just don't want students to be still confused jumping from one language to another, do you?
Workforce
This is another area where the English-BM paradox applies. The over-emphasis of employers on an applicant's proficiency of English had struck fear onto people's minds that if you have major problems in speaking and writing in English, you can look forward to a career in flipping Ramly burgers. So, why take all the hassle learning in-depth BM when you already speak the language and when your future employers treasure English like the 16th-century Portuguese treasure Melaka?
Identity
And these two areas led me to the Malaysian mentality and identity; bangsa Malaysia. The paradox I mentioned just now surmises that we love our bahasa but somehow we put our colonial master's language as number one hence the problems in college syllabus and getting a job. Whose expectation was it that all Malaysians must be good in English? We are learning a totally different language and not everyone can master it even after 11 years of schooling. It's not a video game where you can master it in a couple of hours, it's a LANGUAGE!
This is a matter of self-realization and soul searching for each and every Malaysian to decide whether to put Bahasa Malaysia or English on the throne; if we collectively decide that BM is the king, implement a pro-BM policy for the whole nation i.e. prioritize our mother tongue in books, billboards, forums and resumes. Of course you can still learn English (or any other language as guaranteed by the Perlembagaan) and strive to be fluent at it but at the rate we were going, we are as much eroding our own cultural identity as we are ignoring our language.
Remember: Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa.
4 comments:
SOKONG!! hehe...although there are advantages to Science and Maths in English, think in the long term. If everything is going to be taught in English, where will Bahasa Melayu stand in our identity as Malaysians?
Will it be like a foreign language? And then people will doubt, why we need to learn BM in the first place.
Yes. I really respect the Japanese in a way that they really preserve and protect the sanctity of their language.
If we feel that BM is no longer credible to us, do a Singapore by putting English as the 1st language!
Salam,
Dalam senario pelaksanaan PPSMI negara kita, tak berapa sesuai kita nak samakan dengan senario yang berlaku di Jepun. Jepun telah mengorak langkah menukar istilah2 sains ke bahasa ibunda mereka semasa perkembangan ilmu sains da matematik dunia berada pada tahap yang perlahan yaitu semasa zaman revolusi. Sebaliknya, negara kita baru sahaja dengan secara fokus dan menyeluruh ingin melakukan proses penterjemahan terma2 sains dan matematik ke bahasa Melayu pada era dimana perkembangan ilmu sains dan matematik dunia berada pada kadar yang teramat pantas. Jadi, sebenarnya tujuan pelaksanaan PPSMI enam tahun yang lalu bertujuan untuk meningkat daya saing dan modal insan rakyat Malaysia moga kita "duduk sama rendah, berdiri sama tinggi" dengan evolusi ilmu dunia. Namun begitu, setiap sesuatu ada kelemahannya dan kelemahan PPSMI adalah dari segi pelaksanaannya di mana ia dilaksanakan secara tergopoh gapah. Oleh itu, berilah peluang kepada kerajaan untuk bermuhasabah dalam tempoh masa sehingga 2012 untuk memikirkan apa yang terbaik untuk rakyat Malaysia.
Sekian
Salam perpaduan.
Tulus ikhlas,
Azrul
Ya, memang dipersetujui bahawa kelemahan utama PPSMI adalah pelaksanaan yang dilakukan secara tergopoh-gapah. Harap-harap kerajaan sedar bahawa mereka adalah penentu hala tuju masa depan generasi muda rakyat Malaysia.
Soalan yang ingin saya tujukan kepada para pencinta Bahasa Malaysia i.e. golongan penentang PPSMI ialah sejauh manakah mereka ingin mengorbankan diri mereka untuk menterjemah karya-karya ilmiah sains dan matematik di peringkat universiti?
Janganlah selepas mereka mencapai sasaran ini mereka terus meninggalkan & mencari isu lain untuk membuat bantahan; gunakan peluang ini sebagai batu loncatan untuk membantu kerajaan memperkasakan P&P dalam BM di peringkat sekolah dengan cara apa sekalipun.
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