Mahathir firm on PPSMI but concedes cabinet has final say

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to make his case for the teaching of maths and science in English but conceded that the cabinet will have the final say.

Mahathir, who is also the acting Education Minister, had previously taken government leaders by surprise when he said "We are going to use English in the teaching of Science and Mathematics" during a ministerial meeting, a policy that was introduced in 2003 but scrapped in 2011.

"Everything depends on the cabinet decision as it has the power to agree or disagree but for me, the command of English in maths and science is very important," he said.

Mahathir said a lot of new knowledge comes from abroad and it is often discussed in the English language.

He added that there were not enough Malaysians who could properly translate such scientific knowledge.

"A lot of new findings are written in English. We can translate scientific content but one must not only understand English and Bahasa Malaysia but must also be competent in that particular scientific field.

"If not, we cannot translate (well) and there are not many who can translate (well). Therefore it is easier to understand the latest developments if we understand English," he said in an interview with The Malaya Post portal tonight.

He also said while there are some who champion the national language, they do not seem to practice what they preach.

"There are some who are staunch champions of the national language but yet they speak in English and send their children to private schools that use the English language and they also send their children overseas where they do not use the national language.

"So there is a duality when you have one side championing the national language and on another side, they themselves do not practice it," he said.

Mahathir also touched on the teaching of religion in schools, stating that they should not only focus on the afterlife.

"I think there are many things that the (education) ministry can improve. For example, as Muslims, we tend to focus on religious teachings.

"But as a layperson, we do not need to go to the level of a religious leader so much so that we can discuss religion in depth.

"The priority is for us to understand our religion and to hold on to our beliefs. That is sufficient. Instead, we find that there is little attention for the Islamic way of life in religious teachings.

"This is an important part of the Quran but does not get attention. The focus is on the afterlife, which is necessary but not to the extent that we neglect our current life," he said.

Mahathir also noted that parents appear to favour Chinese vernacular schools more than national schools and said that the government should study why this was the case.

"One thing is that we see parents favouring Chinese schools over national schools. Why? We need to look at the matter in-depth.

"If they choose to go to Chinese schools, then surely there is a reason. We need to know why they leave national schools for Chinese schools," he said.