Referendum on PPSMI (updated)

I wish to offer my congratulations and my wholehearted support to PAGE and JMM for their joint call upon the Government to hold a nationwide referendum on whether PPSMI should be reversed.

Think about it. This proposal de-politicises the whole PPSMI issue.

No political party will win.

Only the rakyat wins.

Is that a bad thing?

____________________________

Sourced from The Star-

Two groups are calling for a referendum to determine if there is enough public support for the option of having Science and Mathematics taught in English in schools.

The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) and Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) are appealing to the Education Ministry to consider the voices of parents who want the option to have PPSMI in schools.

PAGE chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said this at a joint press conference with JMM president Azwanddin Hamzah yesterday.

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.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassinannounced in 2009 that the Government would reverse the PPSMI policy and revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools; and Chinese and Tamil in vernacular schools, while more emphasis would be placed on English.

However, he said in August that the Government was keeping its options open on the matter.

Noor Azimah said to date, PAGE had handed over six memorandums three each to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Muhyiddin but added she had not received any reply.

Noor Azimah said a letter requesting to meet with Najib was handed to him in late August, appealing to the Prime Minister to intervene in the long-standing issue.

Azwanddin said JMM and PAGE were not asking for a change in the official language.

“We are only asking for our children to be given the opportunity to study Science and Mathematics in English,” he said.

Noor Azimah said parents wanted their children to be educated according to their wishes as stipulated in the Education Act 1996.

She said students heading into Form One in national secondary schools in January next year were the ones most affected by the policy reversal.

Noor Azimah advised parents whose children will go to Form Four next year to urge principals to continue with PPSMI in their schools.

“It should be the parents who decide on the medium of instruction, not the principals.”