Should We Raise The Bar, or Lower It?

Thanks to blogdom and the internet, the world is so much more connected. I have had the privilege to learn from so many successful and intelligent people through their blogs! Bakri Musa is one of them. I didn't know about him until I started exploring other people's blogs.

Malay or English? The debate that has been splashed on so many pages of newspapers, and commented on so many blogs, finally came to a conclusion. The conclusion HAS ALSO been commented and analyzed. I didn't have any opinions about this -- the Teaching of Maths and Science, that is.

I was educated in Malay. But I read the opinions of all the "people in power."
Some was pro Malay, and some pro English.

But after reading what Bakri Musa had to say, I would tend to agree with him:

Chaining The Children of The Poor

M. Bakri Musa

The ancient Chinese bound the feet of their baby daughters so they would grow up with deformed tiny feet, thus limiting their mobility and participation in life outside the little world of their homes. These women would then be totally dependent on their men.

In rescinding the policy of teaching science and mathematics in English, the government is likewise binding the intellectual development of our children. They and future generations of Malaysians would grow up with warped intellect. They would then be totally dependent on the government, just as ancient Chinese women with tiny feet were on their men.

My friend and fellow commentator Azly Rahman has a more apt and colorful local metaphor; we are condemning future generations to the Pekan Rabu economy, capable only of selling pirated versions of Michael Jackson albums. That would be the extent of their entrepreneurial prowess and creative flair. They are only subsistence entrepreneurs and ‘copy cat’ creators.

read the rest here: