The Education Minister YB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently announced that from the year 2010 students who sit for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia are allowed to take a maximum of twelve subjects reversing his earlier decision in June allowing only ten subjects. This is to prevent the students from placing too much importance on getting as many A’s as possible.
The earlier ruling has an adverse effect on Tamil and Chinese students especially from the science stream who wish to sit for the Tamil, Mandarin or Tamil Literature paper. They have to take 6 core subjects which include Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics, Moral, History and Science. In addition, they are forced to take Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Additional Mathematics. Together they add up to ten subjects. So, they are left with no choice but to drop Tamil, Tamil Literature or Mandarin. This will result with no qualified teachers in future to teach Tamil or Mandarin in both national and national type schools. How will the Ministry of Education address this issue? Or, is it part of a bigger plan to implement the single stream system.
We must note here that the level of mastery of literature shows the level of language proficiency of a person. Did the Minister make a right decision by prohibiting someone from mastering a language? Well, he owes us an explanation.
In a blink of an eye, the human race has gone from the industrial era to knowledge era, in which knowledge and information are the keys to opportunity and advancement. To acquire knowledge we must master languages. Our vocabulary should be large. One of the most important qualities of successful leaders is an ability to express thoughts and knowledge. Human resource experts confirm that people with large vocabularies-those who are able to speak clearly and concisely, using simple as well as descriptive words-are best at accomplishing goals. The fewer the words, the fewer the ideas, the narrower the thinking, the less power in people’s minds.
All students must be proficient in at least four languages including Bahasa Malaysia, English, mother tongue and an additional language of their choice. Sounds crazy? Maybe yes, for the traditional thinkers. They may say that students will be burdened with too many subjects, or students will have no time to focus on other subjects or the prominence of the national language will diminish and so on. But for the creative thinkers, this is an interesting idea. They’ll look at all the benefits of being proficient in an additional language in a globalized world.
Just imagine what will happen if Proton announces today that they have made the ultimate car and any further improvement is impossible. Therefore all research and development will cease with immediate effect. Successful people will always think about ways to improve their quality. Absolute perfection is unattainable. This means there is always room for improvement. Likewise our leaders must find ways to keep improving the education system and create knowledgeable students for the nation to progress into the next era. For this to materialize our leaders should not have backward regressive thinking but forward, progressive thinking.
What harm can it do to the nation if a student sits for twenty papers? If the student can cope, then he or she should not be stopped. According to UCLA’s Brain Research Institute, the human brain’s potential to create, store and learn may be virtually unlimited. We could without any difficulty learn up to forty languages. Therefore, no one has the right to deny knowledge to anyone. After all, the student is responsible for his or her future.
The Batu Kawan Member of Parliament, Dr. P. Ramasamy intended to propose an emergency motion on this issue in the Parliament. But, we cannot expect much as the chances are that it would have been rejected by the Speaker citing it is not urgent. We have seen this happening all the time.
However, the Minister’s decision to reverse his earlier decision is very heartening. He has listened to the voices of the Non-Governmental Organizations and gave consideration for their views. We have to be grateful and thank them for their unity and persistence. They have shown solidarity by putting aside their differences and ideologies for the sake of the language and community.
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