Pakatan asks why PPSMI dropped

(The Malaysian Insider) KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — They asked for it but the federal opposition is refusing to drop the teaching mathematics and science in English or PPSMI as an issue, asking the government to explain its rationale for finally scrapping the policy by 2012.

“The decision to cancel PPSMI is politically motivated as no research results has been produced,” PKR’s new education shadow Yusmadi Yusoff said when reacting to the government’s move to end a policy initiated by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2003.

“As it has constitutional and financial consequences which go into the billions of ringgit, PKR calls on the education minister to prepare a white paper on the decision,” the Balik Pulau MP said.

Announcing the decision earlier today, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had denied that the move was politically motivated ahead of the July 14 Manek Urai by-election.

According to Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister, the government had made the decision after research on the six-year-old policy and found that it could not be implemented as expected.

DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke also asked to know details of why PPSMI had been dropped.

“It is an admission that the Barisan Nasional government has implemented the wrong policy. We call for the details of the government’s research on this issue to be made public, as it is crucial for everyone to know what had happened over the last few years when the policy was in place,” the Rasah MP said.

Read more at: Pakatan asks why PPSMI dropped