PPSMI: An advantage

2009/11/25

Y.L. , Klang

I REFER to the opinions of Dr Wan Hashim of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia on PPSMI (“Do not belittle BahasaMalaysia ”—NST, Nov 23).

I believe Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim’s remarks (“It’s the language of knowledge”— NST, Nov 18) were not incorrect.

With all due respect to Wan Hashim’s position as a lecturer for 30 years, I, too, believe that English is the language of knowledge.

It’s true that every language needs time and room for improvement.

Bahasa Malaysia, too, can be a language of k n ow l e d g e .

But, think again. How many years will it take? The task is not impossible but consider that in today’s world, constant discoveries and inventions are rapid and would be first and foremost, explained in English.

As a science-stream student, I can assure you that it is no easy task looking for information in BM. We are limited to textbooks and reference books, and can almost never do cross-reference on the Internet, unless we translate what we are looking for into English.

It is possible, of course, to learn in BM but it takes a lot more effort on the student’s part. Is it any surprise that Malaysia isn’t exactly the most popular destination for students seeking tertiary education? When students pursue their master’s and PhDs overseas, they have to convert to using English for Science and Mathematics.

In today’s competitive world, who wouldn’t want an advantage?

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