STAR ABOUT TO BE BORN

Sometime during the year (1957) we heard some news, ( originally   rumours) about some political development taking place that would affect our School and us. The politicians particularly the Malay School teachers were quite disappointed that Malay Secondary Schools like ours and the ones in Tanjung Malim and Durian Daun in Melaka (for the girls) were actually providing secondary education in English. There was a plan therefore that in the following year there would be established Malay medium secondary schools for selected pupils from Malay  primary schools. However the Malay secondary schools providing education through English medium would be continued. Parents would be given the option whether their children would go Malay medium or English medium secondary schools. Those who opted for English medium schools would first go to Remove Classes like we did. Those who decided on Malay medium schools would go straight to Form One. It must have been difficult for parents to make the choice. For nationalists the choice must be Malay medium education. However the English education has more economic value in terms of employability and opportunities for tertiary education. For us who have already embarked on English medium secondary education there was no option but to continue with English medium education. Personally I feel it was fortunate that I had English medium secondary education. I would not have been able at that time to subsequently study at King’s College, University of London no less, if I had Malay medium secondary education. I was then able to enter the legal profession. I think it was very much later that products of Malay medium schools were able to pursue University education abroad. Those students who had Malay medium education and went to local Universities during the early period found it difficult to obtain employment in the private sector. It was even worse for those who only had Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) through the Malay Medium schools.  The SPM was even mocked as Sijil Pengangguran Malaysia.   Thus most of them became teachers and the better ones joined the Civil Service.

This is  not meant to be a criticism of the decision to provide education through the Malay language. Of course it was a politically  correct decision.  However I do question whether there had been enough preparation before it was implemented. I remember in the early stages the Malay medium classes were placed in the English medium schools. They were “squatters” if you like. It was very much later that Schools like Sekolah Aminuddin Baki  and other schools were built. I am not sure if the teachers were ever trained to teach in Bahasa Malaysia. I remember when I was a temporary teacher in  Methodist English School, Tanjong Malim after finishing my Higher School Certificate there were Malay Medium classes attached (for a better word) to the School. This was in 1964. I could see that they did not have properly trained teachers. It was much later that a  proper school was built for that area. I think it was called Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Khir Johari. I would like to know from educationists whether the Razak Report which provided for secondary education for pupils from Malay Primary schools provides for English or Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction.

Perhaps our experience in deciding whether to opt for English Medium or Malay medium secondary education could have been used in the current controversy whether to use English or Malay in the teaching of Science and Mathematics in schools. Our experience shows that it was possible in the late 50s and early 60s to teach all subjects including Science and Mathematics in English to pupils who had very little knowledge of English and in that process the pupils’ knowledge of English also improved. When the idea of teaching Science and Mathematics in English in schools was proposed by Dr. Mahathir the then Prime Minister,  I am of the opinion that the idea was sound. I am of course not an educationist although I can also claim to be a nationalist. However I do question the haste in implementing it. And now we have to revert to using Bahasa Malaysia. Our experience proved that we were exposed to a much wider field of knowledge and opportunities by having English medium education. In my own case my English was definitely much better compared to those who had their education using the Malay language and I can also say with some pride that my command of Bahasa Malaysia is no worse that of the English language. I could not possibly have studied Law at that time without possessing a strong command of the English Language. When I was in law practice I was rather sad to observe that the young Malay  lawyers who came from Malay Medium schools and studied law in the local universities where I understand they had the choice of attending lectures and doing the examinations in English or Bahasa Malaysia, their knowledge of the law and command of English language was left much to be desired. They must have been severely handicapped not being able to read and understand books and reports which were mostly in English. The same thing may happen to the present children who are going to learn science and mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia. It is undeniable that there are very few books in science and mathematics at all levels of education Bahasa Malaysia. Translation is a very slow process and by the time books are translated they have become obsolete because development in science and technology is very fast. Perhaps giving the parents the option whether their children should be taught science and mathematics in English or Bahasa Malaysia is not a bad idea. In our time the parents had that option to decide whether their children should go to English or Malay medium secondary schools. It had worked quite well. Not to mention it is democratic too.

It was about this time also that it was proposed that the three existing Malay Secondary Schools should be renamed so that the irony that Malay secondary schools were actually teaching in English was not so apparent. It is a rebranding exercise if you like. So our School would be renamed Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Tuanku Abdul Rahman was the reigning Yang Di Pertuan Agung of the country. A lot of people mistook it and thought the School was named after the Prime Minister of that time Tunku Abdul Rahman (also known as Tengku Abdul Rahman). The Tanjung Malim School was renamed Sekolah Dato’ Abdul Razak  taking the name of the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education. The girls’ school in Melaka was renamed Sekolah Tun Fatimah taking its name from a character in Sejarah Melayu.  I must ask my wife who came from that School to tell me who Tun Fatimah was, and tell you about it perhaps in the next article.