A raging rally expected
More than 5,000 of parents are expected to gather at Dataran Petaling Jaya come March 10 to vent out their frustrations, and demanding for an option that their children and the future generations be taught Mathematics and Science in English.
THEY are tired, frustrated and fed up, but these parents are not about to give up. Come March 10, more than 5,000 of these angry parents are going to vent out their frustrations at Dataran Petaling Jaya so that their children and those after them will be taught Mathematics and Science in English.
The organiser has not given full details of the rally but something is definitely brewing. Interested parents have been advised to follow updates on Parents for PPSMI (P4P) rally on Facebook very closely.
There was even a press conference on Wednesday to announce the intention to have the rally, and inform the public that some schools have not been allowing students to continue learning Mathematics and Science in English because of various problems happening at the ground level.
Shamsudin Hamid, who is the organising chairman of Concerned Parents of Selangor (CPS) (the body which mooted the move to hold the rally), said he was confident that at least 5,000 would turn up at the rally based on the overwhelming responses and exchanges made online and offline about wanting an option for Mathematics and Science to be taught in English.
“Parents are the biggest stakeholders in this matter and should be consulted, but they have been sidelined,” he said.
Sharing the pain and agony that some parents had suffered in trying to get their children to continue learning the two subjects in English, Shamsudin said parents have written letters of appeal requesting that the policy on the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) be retained.
“We collected 12,000 of those letters and made a petition and handed them in to the Prime Minister’s office last December. All we got was a stamp and signature by a junior officer acknowleging the receipt of the letters,” he said.
A lack of response from the Government has left him and thousands of other parents high and dry. As if things are not bad enough, their letters have seemingly fallen into a “black hole” where their appeals go unanswered.
“Not even once have they responded to the letters we sent,” he said.
The annoyed parents are mainly affected by the Government’s reversal of the PPSMI policy in 2009, meaning that Science and Mathematics would revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and Chinese and Tamil in vernacular schools.
It was also announced that the “soft landing” would only begin in 2012 to enable the Government to make the necessary preparations, and to ensure the implementation of the new policy did not affect the first batch, and that they would continue to study Mathematics and Science bilingually (in English and Bahasa Malaysia) until 2014. The PPSMI policy was initiated by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and implemented in phases, beginning with Year One, Form One and Lower Six students in 2003.
However, many parents have realised that schools have not been allowing students to choose to continue in English.
It is no wonder why these parents are frustrated. They feel they have been taken for a ride.
The lack of proper guidelines, inadequate textbooks in English, and no consultation with parents are just a few of the factors adding salt to their wounds.
The parents can no longer tolerate being ignored. These parents have tried not once but many times to make their voices heard, simply because they are tired of sitting and waiting for a response.
Judging by the public angst and anguish over the reversal of the policy, Shamsudin and his fellow comrades might even be right about the number of supporters who would turn up at the rally on March 10.
Last year, the Government announced that students who started learning Science and Mathematics in English would continue to do so until they complete their studies in Form Five.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this meant that pupils from Year Two up from 2011 would continue learning under the PPSMI.
Muhyiddin who is also Education Minister, said the subjects would be taught in Bahasa Malaysia from 2016 for primary schools and 2021 for secondary schools.
However, many parents still believe the Government’s decision will only cause more harm than good to the nation’s human capital development.
Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin said his group had met with many ministers hoping they would help the parents convey their messages through the right channels.
During his recent meeting with Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Mak said his group had submitted another memorandum to the Prime Minister’s office.
“We are not anti-government or antiMBMMBI (Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English), nor are we antiBahasa Kebangsaan. In the letter to Dr Koh, we proposed that the PPSMI to be retained indefinitely as a permanent feature in the curriculum and the issues happening at the ground level be solved,” he said.
If there was still no response, Mak said he would organise a rally in Malacca, adding that there would be at least three buses ferrying supporters from Malacca to attend the rally on March 10. Supporters are also expected to travel from Ipoh and Penang.
In the poster printed and distributed by CPS, there is one sentence that stands out. It reads “PPSMI for Malaysia’s future; Remember: parents = voters”.
When asked if he was concerned that the rally would be seen as “threatening” the Government, Shamsudin replied: “It’s not a threat. This is the reality. We are doing the Government a favour by gathering all the parents at the same spot in a civil manner”.
“We are convinced that the Prime Minister will listen to the parents. He has shown his conviction and commitment when engaging with the poor folks, Indian community and fishermen. It would be in the best interest of the Government to speak to us before the election.”