LETTER | DLP upholds Bahasa Melayu

LETTER | When the Dual Language Programme (DLP) was formulated in 2015, the criteria agreed upon were simple yet achievable.

They were that parents were required to provide consent in writing, the school had the desired resources to conduct the programme especially the readiness of teachers, and that the school leaders had a comprehensive plan to ensure its sustainability. Every school was encouraged to have at least one DLP class at every level.

At the last minute, prior to its implementation in 2016, the Malay ultra-nationalists insisted on a fourth criterion, which was to impose a Bahasa Melayu (BM) requirement on schools.

The respective schools needed to meet either the national average for BM in UPSR or SPM before applying to seek approval to adopt the DLP. In effect, a particular school needed to be good in BM even before applying to conduct science and mathematics classes in the English language.

Whether this was a well-thought-out decision or not now appears to be rather self-destructive than progressive. Merely for the sake of opposing DLP, the BM requirement now prevents most schools that do not meet the national average from applying.

It is these very schools, largely Malay schools populated by Malay children, that are prevented from enhancing their proficiency in the English language.

In fact, when DLP was established it was these very Malay children that we had most in mind to elevate their well-being and give them a better chance in life, and in some cases even bring them out of the poverty trap.

The recent SPM 2023 results revealed that 9,306 students failed BM while for the English language, more than 40,000 students failed.

Yet 90 percent of primary schools in Sabah and the peninsula do not offer DLP at all and it is nothing that the Education Ministry should be proud of. Imposing a non-DLP class in DLP schools is therefore unjustifiable.

On the other hand, the Malay ultra-nationalists should be proud of themselves by continuing to suppress Malay children in every way they can from progress, prosperity, a global outlook and employment prospects.

The ministry’s focus instead should be to support and assist the schools that do not meet the national average for BM in order for them to apply to become a DLP school. It is not about forfeiting the already so few DLP classes.

How much more political pandering can parents and Malaysia take?

PAGE is an educational lobbyist that serves as a channel between concerned parents, the Education Ministry and other educational stakeholders.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.