Mr Nonsense

I just went to Dr M's blog to "busybody around" and if possible, write a comment there. After seeing 595 responses for his blog post on the teaching of Science and Maths in English, I decided it would be a waste of time to comment. Dr M is not going to read 596 comments!

After some browsing around on his webpage, I discovered something which I find ridiculous, or should I say, "nonsense". Here's what I found:

By hisham1 on July 9, 2009 3:05 PM
firstly I thought that it wise to teach math and science in english. but after the minister, who is a nonsense guy, form a committee, discussed, and decide about it I changed my mind. I go with the government. So, I vote:
YES

Hmmm, so what you're trying to say here is that you're a nonsense guy as well?

Eh brother, wake up-lah! Do you really really think Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is rasional in making his decision? (Note that I'm trying to make his status sound like an insult.) For heaven's sake, even a normal kid is able to explain why Maths and Science should be taught in English. What about all those scientific terms? Not like they'll be the same in Bahasa Malaysia! "Monocular vision", "astigmatism", "heart attack", etc. are only accurately described in English mainly because there is no existing word for those terms in BM. Thus, the closest that "heart attack" can be translated into is "penyakit jantung", which literally means "heart sickness". At this point, it is grammatically correct to say I have "penyakit jantung" because of the government's decision, yet scientifically wrong to do so.

And the Education Minister still wants to revert the subjects back to BM. Oh dear, it's back to the Stoneage.

Muhyiddin Yassin claims that the grades of students are gradually deteriorating every year since the teaching of those subjects in English was implemented. What sort of excuse is this? Lower grades don't show that we're getting dumber, neither does it show that the English language is the main cause of deterioration in grades. Firstly, the papers are marked very strictly and we students know that the examiners only follow a guideline when marking. You would only be considered correct if the words you used are found in the marking scheme, regardless of whether your answer should be rightfully correct or not. Secondly, maybe students do not understand certain things like the aim of the experiment, or are not well-read in a certain topic. These are not because they do not understand the terms, but because they don't prepare themelves well. Thirdly, have you noticed that students' characters are changing by the day?! More and more people are slacking and that may also be the cause of declination in grades.

EdMin, don't you want us to continue improving so that we can rise to the standards of other countries? Maybe not. Maybe you just want all your citizens to grow up stupid at the same rate. Maybe that's your concept of 1Malaysia, where rural and urban students learn at the same, slow rate, never being able to grasp the actual terms used in the scientific fields. Maybe they want students to have a tough time keeping up in universities. And all the potential scientists can suffer forever, for the sake of learning at the same rate as kampung people. Sweet, sweet 1Malaysia.

But NO! That's not what students want! Urban students want to keep up with the rat race, while rural students just want to have proper education where they learn proper terms. Honestly, how many countries in the world use Bahasa Malaysia as a medium to study science? So, do you think that learning these subjects in BM will be of much help to us? If all we care about is our examination results and the SPM certificate, how on earth are we supposed to improve ourselves?! How are we supposed to be accepted into overseas universities?

The whole point here is not that the English standard will drop, but that the understanding of mathematics and the sciences will implode into a complicated heap of BM words which cannot be converted into english fast enough.

If we cannot understand English terms, how then can we learn about more complex researches and findings? How can we grasp the knowledge which we ran away from? How are students supposed to convert back to english in their higher education, and what about those who wish to be future scientists? All the answers are simple and they point to a certain phenomenon Malaysia hates : Brain Drain.

People say that knowledge is power. At the rate this is going, it is almost a prophecy to say that the forthcoming generation will be intellectual weaklings.

I pity aspiring scientists.

Najib, Najib, your deputy prime minister has tarnished your name within your first 100 days as PM, eventhough "some" people are happy and you came out in the headlines with showers of praises from an 11-year old gifted kid. Your senseless party Barisan Nonsense have absent-mindedly agreed to his decision and you have not opened your mouth on this matter. Mr Prime Minister, you have earned my lifelong contempt for killing my compatriots' futures.

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Torture the Government :Holidays That Never Were

Note: Scroll down to read the essay.

The fortnight-long holiday has proven redundant for my case, mainly because 11 out of 16 days were not spent doing the "correct" things. Neither "correct" as in studying, nor "correct" as in "teenager correct", spending time on the computer. Instead, there were various "distractions" to pay attention to. Unfortunately, these "distractions" ate away my holidays.

Distraction Monster.

What am I talking about?? More like Monster of Destruction!!! Destroyed my holidays!! But it's okay, at least I learned a few things which I already know. I gained experience eventhough I could've done better. At least I know my capabilities. Without trying hard enough? Okay, good or bad hols, you judge.

1. We were quite good as a choir.
2. We still didn't champion the state.
3. We weren't slaughtered by CHS even though we knew we sucked a lot for the MCE competition.
4. We screwed up the MCE competition, thus not being able to gauge our true capabilities. In case you don't know, we were judged by REAL judges.
5. I've made Filipino friends.
6. I did not communicate much with the Batu Lintang or the Sibu group (eek).
7. I took a lot of group pictures, this time, most of them contained me in the pic.
8. The camera was blur most of the time. (Fussy with blur pics).
9. I improved tremendously in Scrabble and got a worthy position.
10. I flunked Scrabble terribly.
11. I think I can pass Yamaha grade 4.
12. My voice cracked when I was singing, and the examiner thought I couldn't sing high notes even though I know I'm soprano 1. Heck.

13. I know Gheek is nuttier than usual.
14. Catholics like tempe.
15. Starbucks consoles people.
16. The scrabble team consists of Adam Lambert fans (who don't respond to my poll).
17. Shu Wen's dad's phone got misplaced, later known as lost.
18. I like KL.
19. Most people enjoy loitering.

I did not have the free time to send my complaints to Star or the government yet, so I'll post my opinions here for the time being. If there are any points you wish to add, please let me know. If you're some legendary debater or public speaker, advice on how to present my points are greatly appreciated. (Please note that I'm planning to send this to the papers).

I have been reading the news on the currently controversial English subject. As a secondary school student, I wish to express my disappointment towards the reluctance to turn English into a compulsory “pass” subject in SPM. I was really shocked when I read that there were groups that actually wanted to call off the implementation. Looks like some of us have already conceded defeat before the fight even began.

Are we Malaysians really that doubtful of our abilities? We’ve conquered Mount Everest, swam across various channels, broken many records and yet we claim that we cannot master the English language. How ridiculous is that? We all know that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Apparently, there isn’t much determination to master the language now, is there?

I would like to know, why are we so unwilling to improve and help ourselves? We all know that English is the global medium of communication in important fields such as science and technology. Yet why is our government still beating around the bush, debating about such a trivial issue such as making the language a compulsory subject to pass in SPM? Why is it so hard to accept a language which equals to global importance?

Don’t keep repeating that rural students and teachers are not able to master and teach English effectively. We’re tired of hearing that already. Just because English isn’t our mother tongue doesn’t mean that we have to neglect it and only focus on the national language alone. Yes, we should feel proud of Bahasa Malaysia as our national language and be proficient in it, but that does not mean that we have to forsake English because that is the language that will bring us out into the world.

Having said that, stop using the rural students as an excuse to not make the subject compulsory, as all you are implying is that you doubt your citizens’ capabilities. What about those teachers who have strived to bring out the best in their students? What about those students who have worked hard for themselves? Students of today are the future of our country. How can anybody use the rural area students’ discomfort towards English as an excuse to jeopardize the nation’s future? Honestly, have you heard of adaptation, perseverance and hard work? If we all want to move forward as a nation, then we should really walk the talk. If we are willing to accept English as a compulsory subject, then of course we can improve. There are people out there who will work hard to master the subject, so don’t presume that we give up that easily. Don’t look down on our abilities. Instead, we should give each other assurance that we can do it.

One of the reasons as to why the standard of English is so low is because the subject is not compulsory to pass to get the SPM certificate. Students perceive it as a less important subject, and so do the teachers, who utilize their English-teaching period to teach other subjects. If it were compulsory, then students and teachers alike would treat this subject differently and make an effort to excel in it, just like Bahasa Malaysia.

If we want to compete on a global basis, then we should really open our minds and hearts to learn English. This is education and not politics, so don’t gamble with our future. Please don’t let Malaysia be left behind.


I know it's rather short for a complaint, so please help. If you're a M'sian student, all the more you should help. (Calling overseas help as well). Please, please, please try to make this sound thought-provoking. Help me make an ending as well. Right now, the ending sounds dead and emotionless. Thanks so much.

Now, I'll just have to ....err....translate my whole passage to Nonsense Form to send to the government, so that they can estimate M'sian's English quality. I think I'll start with "I'm has read the new's about the funneh Enggrish subjek and wants to shows disapoinment on the garventmen......"

Thanks for reading. Hopefully you can help.

Edit: If you were wondering, yes, I DID send this letter to the Star. But, like I said, no way are they going to publish it.

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