Use Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia in schools

I REFER to the news article “Let deaf pupils use mother tongue and they’ll do well” ( The Star, Aug 26).

I am surprised that schools are still using the Kod Tangan Bahasa Malaysia (KTBM) to teach deaf students despite a circular from the director-general in early 2016 instructing schools to use Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM).

I was then a member of the Education Committee under the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. This Education Committee is chaired by the director-general of education and meets three times a year to discuss and resolve issues pertaining to education of students with disabilities in schools and institutes of higher learning.

The issue of schools still using KTMB and problems faced by deaf students were highlighted at a meeting where I pointed out that in the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008, under Interpretation Section 2, “Malaysia Sign Language” means the official sign language for the deaf in Malaysia.

Furthermore, Section 29 (3) (b) clearly states that the government and private education providers shall take appropriate steps to facilitate the learning of Malaysia Sign Language and the promotion of the linguistics identity of the deaf community.

I urged the ministry to comply with this Act and to heed the repeated requests by the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf to introduce BIM in schools.

Subsequently, at the Education Committee meeting on March 14, 2016, it was reported that a circular had already been sent to all schools on the use of Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM).

Hence, I would like to ask why the Education Ministry is unaware of this important decision and action that was taken by its former director-general. Why is there no continuity? This clearly shows the ministry lacks the commitment to provide accessible quality education for deaf persons.

The BIM is important in order for deaf students to acquire language proficiency in order to perform well in written examinations.