Math and Science.. tak sudah-sudah!

English.. no Engriisshhh! Can't seem to reach the end of the tunnel where this issue is concerned... swirls of opinions, and emotions poured in. And they swirl and spin... but nothing seems to gel yet.

But face it! Not mastering English does kinda make one more ignorant. There are not many intellectually stimulating stuff out there in BM or any other languages. So, to be in the 'boleh cakap Inggeris sikit-sikit' group does make one a little more, well... ketinggalan. Maths and Science in English... frankly it doesn't really matter. And solution is also not by making it a compulsory pass. Not everyone needs a pass in English to survive. Anyway, by making it a compulsory pass will create another set of problems. What matters is that the standard of English must be brought up. Though it make more sense for these two subjects to be taught in English, for the host of reasons that everyone has been saying.

But this is crazy! Math and Science in English.. Math and Science in mother tongue... then it's back to English.. now there are groups clamouring again. We must surely be one of those few countries with the record where switching medium of instruction is concerned. This is the time when we need a leader bold enough to make good decisions. Not this swinging back and forth thing. More studies needed, more time to decide. But leaders with a bent for doing the right things are a rare commodity in the gahmen now... so it seems.

Some are proposing we go the 3M way... not your membaca, menulis, mengira thingy but Multi Media Malaysia. Have schools with different mediums of instruction; let the market forces dictate. In the end, demands will dictate what survives and dies. But I think, given the current scenario, most likely the English medium school will thrive. Chinese schools might still survive. Tamil schools will probably see its demise cos even the educated Indians don't send their children to Tamil schools. National schools will falter too... guess maybe that's why the gahmen may not want to have this 3M thingy... but it'll survive though languish.

BM is already a subject. A compulsory pass in it is a must in order to get the SPM cert. The medium of instruction should be flexible, based on need rather than just nationalism. Nationalism can't feed empty stomachs. We need skills. We need to be able to compete. I think the time has come for nationalism to be reflected not just through a language. Nationalism should be about the pride in being Malaysian and everything Malaysian. Nationalism should be blind to skin colour... but that'll also need a lot or re-working, re-branding, re-touching, re-making...... so many re(s).

We can choose to remain the proverbial frog under the coconut shell... not that being that frog is all that bad. Ignorance can be bliss sometimes!!! LOL! That way, the political masters can continue to dictate their whims and fancy on us, the ignorant lot.