KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — The Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has again urged for Malaysia to revive English-medium schools much like those in Singapore, pointing out that because of the policy, the island state has done well for itself.
In an interview with The Star, Sultan Ibrahim said Malaysia can learn from the way Singapore has forged national unity via its education system, which he said has not only helped develop the nation but also brought its people together regardless of race and religion.
“Singapore is our closest neighbour. We don’t have to go very far; we should emulate them as the island republic has achieved development way ahead of us.
“Let’s be honest with ourselves. Singapore has done well as a country. Their students have fared very well in Mathematics and Science. The prominent use of English has set them ahead of us,” he said.
The outspoken state ruler said there are politicians here who are in “self-denial” and choose to play politics with education by being “heroes of their races”.
“They talk about nationalism but they too send their children to boarding schools in Australia and the United Kingdom,” he added.
“I am confident if we have an education system based on a single stream for students from a young age, we will be able to create a community which is more harmonious and can work together to face challenges in the future.
“Anyway, we can also teach Bahasa Malaysia in schools as it is the country’s national language. You can still have English as the medium of instruction, but BM and Chinese or Tamil are compulsory,” he suggested.
He pointed out that English was used as the medium instruction in schools in the 1950s and 1960s and a pass in BM and Math was compulsory then.
During his address at the Johor assembly last month, the state ruler had made the same remark on English-medium schools, saying that a single-stream education system would foster racial integration and produce a more united and harmonious society.
The medium of instruction has been Malay since the 1970s but in 2003, the Policy of Teaching Science and Mathematics in English was introduced, only to be discontinued seven years later.
English-language lobbyist such as the Parents Action Group for Education continue to push for the return of — or at least the option for parents to choose — the discontinued policy that they contend was needed to improve the mastery of English as well as technical subjects.
The Education Ministry recently made it mandatory for students sitting for the SPM to pass the English language examination beginning 2016.
