Gapena gesa Putrajaya tidak hidupkan PPSMIApril 25, 2011KUALA LUMPUR, 25 April — Gabungan Persatuan Penulis Nasional Malaysia (Gapena) membantah langkah kemungkinan Putrajaya memperkenalkan semula dasar Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Mateamtik Dalam Bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI) dalam dua bahasa pengantara ekoran desakan pelbagai pihak.
Kerajaan mengumumkan dasar baru menggantikan PPSMI pertengahan tahun lalu.Setiausaha Satu Gapena Prof Madya Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan berkata pengumuman membolehkan PPSMI dalam dua bahasa pengantar sedikit sebanyak merupakan kemenangan politik kepad Persatuan Ibu Bapa Untuk Pendidikan Malaysia (Page).
Sehubungan itu soal beliau, apakah kepentingan rakyat terbanyak tidak merupakan kepentingan politik manakala kepentingan rakyat terbanyak tidak didahulukan.
“PPSMI kini mencetuskan polemik yang tidak kunjung selesai, malah menimbulkan reaksi yang pelbagai apabila Perdana Menteri menyebut di kalangan sahabat Facebook di Pulau Pinang bahawa kemungkinan kerajaan akan mengkaji cadangan PPSMI diajar di dalam dua bahasa pengantar,” kata beliau di ruangannya diterbit Utusan Malaysia hari ini.Kata beliau, Page dan beberapa akhbar berbahasa Inggeris mula mencanangkan isu bilingualism untuk PPSMI sebagai jalan keluar terbaik, suatu situasi menang-menang, yang tidak semestinya terbaik.
Zainal berkata Persatuan Linguistik Malaysia bersama-sama 48 pertubuhan Melayu juga Gapena membantah sekeras-kerasnya akan cadangan berkenaan.“Lulus jarum lulus kelindan, bermula dari PPSMI, maka akan ada pula cadangan untuk multilingualism di sekolah-sekolah,” katanya.
Zainal berkata, identiti nasional yang berteraskan kepada seluruh wadah dan wahana kebangsaan akan hancur luluh, diluluh-lantakkan oleh kepentingan kelompok minoriti.“Bahasa sebagai simbol perjuangan kebangsaan, perpaduan kebangsaan yang berteraskan semangat kebangsaan tidak lagi mempunyai apa-apa makna. Ia akan terakam sebagai satu sejarah yang dikalahkan oleh kepentingan praktis dan material kehidupan manusia.
“Para pejuang bahasa sekeras-kerasnya menolak PPSMI tetapi tidak menolak peri pentingnya bahasa Inggeris. Mereka memikirkan kepentingan bangsa dan negara bukannya kepentingan sekelompok kecil elit dan kelas atasan,” katanya.
Zainal menambah, ditimbulkan persoalan ini bukannya para pejuang bahasa antikelas tetapi khuatir ada pihak yang akan mengguna isu ini dalam kerangka kepentingan politik.Secara khususnya kata beliau, pembesaran kelas menengah Melayu disebabkan oleh pelaksanaan Dasar Bahasa Kebangsaan dan Dasar Pendidikan Kebangsaan.“Semakin ramai kelas teknokrat, korporat dan birokrat Melayu adalah disebabkan kedua-dua dasar tersebut, walau pun dari segi jumlah kelas ini masih kecil berbanding kelas yang sepertinya di kalangan bukan Melayu,” katanya lagi.
Amat dikhuatirkan bahasa Inggeris menjadi bahasa pengucapan kelas birokrat, teknokrat dan korporat Melayu di bandar seperti Bukit Damansara dan kawasan-kawasan sepertinya berbanding majoriti rakyat di luar bandar yang terus berbahasa Melayu.“Maka bahasa Inggeris untuk kelas atasan Melayu manakala bahasa Melayu untuk kelas bawahan Melayu,” katanya lagi.
Zainal juga berkata, seandainya isu PPSMI kembali dipolitikkan dan parti politik Melayu yang dominan seperti Umno sepi pula untuk memberikan reaksi, kemungkinan parti politik pembangkang Melayu lain akan mengutipnya mewadahi perjuangan politik mereka.
“Faktor jurang kebudayaan ini boleh dimanipulasi untuk kepentingan politik. Sekiranya agenda Memartabatkan Bahasa Melayu dan Memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris (MBMMBI) tidak direalisasi secara konkrit, maka masalah juga akan muncul.
Beliau menambah, daripada pengalaman di beberapa bahagian dunia bahasa boleh mencetuskan konflik dalaman sesuatu negara, tetapi adalah amat diharapkan isu PPSMI ini tidak terjerumus ke lembah konflik.
“Pihak pemerintah telah mengemukakan MBMMBI, maka pelaksanaannya perlu disegerakan dan tidak wajar PPSMI dikaji semula atau dilaksanakan dalam apa jua bentuk,” katanya.Kata beliau, pendekatan dan kaedah yang ditetapkan oleh MBMMBI amat memadai untuk mempertingkatkan keterampilan berbahasa Inggeris di kalangan para pelajar sekolah.
“Kita tidak mahu ada kelompok yang terus mengasingkan diri dari kelompok majoriti. Pengasingan budaya melalui bahasa amat berbahaya.
“Janganlah isu PPSMI diulang kembali untuk memusnahkan segala harapan untuk mencapai kemajuan, kesejahteraan, keamanan, masa depan rakyat terbanyak dan negara, maka berjiwa besarlah untuk mengutamakan kepentingan rakyat terbanyak,” katanya. Go here
Tell me what is your position on the RAPING OF ARTICLE 152 AND THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE ACT by the Vernacular Schools?
Boleh? Takde hal ke pakcik?
Apekebenda lu nak claim lu represent "PARA PEJUANG BAHASA".....
Yeah rite.....
Read here about the Real Movement in the 60's
THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE ACTION FRONTThe formation of the NLAF in July 1964 by the Malay nationalists was a response to the Chinese language movement, which was seen by them as a challenge to the supreme status of Malay as the national language. It was also a response to the government‟s apparent lack of firm resolve on the language issue (Funston, 1980:65). The NLAF included members of UMNO, and it worked closely with PAS and Malay student activists (Mauzy, 1983:34). The NLAF was the main driving force of Malay linguistic nationalism throughout the 1960s. It was led by Syed Nasir Syed Ismail who was the Director of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) or the National Institute of Language and Literature from Jun 1957 to December 1968.
DBP was established in 1956 to oversee language corpus planning as well as to promote the wider use of Malay and the development of Malay literature. In 1960, Syed Nasir launched the Bulan Bahasa Kebangsaan or the National Language Month to promote the wider use of the national language. The success of the National Language Month prompted the Alliance government to announce that Malay could become the sole official language earlier than expected (Funston, 1980:64).
Syed Nasir was strongly against the Chinese language movement. He construed the movement as a purported challenge to the NLAF‟s effort to recognize Malay as the sole official language. On 12 November 1964, he took exception of the Chinese educationists for demanding their language to be accorded equal status as the Malay language (Jiao Zong Jiaoyu Yanjiu Zhongxin, 1984:57).
In a speech he delivered in Pontian, Johore on 12 September 1966, he accused the Chinese educationists of making racial demand to recognize Chinese as an official language. He maintained that the Malays would never accept such a demand. He further pointed out that the official language issue was a matter of national importance and should not be politicized by any quarters (Loot, 1996:51-52).
In December 1965, the NLAF passed several resolutions at its National Assembly, among which was to request the government to stipulate clearly in the Constitution that the sole national language and official language is Malay. But the resolutions of the NLAF were not well received by Tunku Abdul Rahman who had earlier supported the NLAF, but had by then distanced himself from the NLAF. He even labeled the NLAF leaders as extremists who might be using the language issue as an attempt to seize national power. Tunku was well aware that the NLAF was collaborating with PAS, UMNO‟s main political rival, and this was detrimental to the political interests of UMNO (Funston, 1980:65). Also, Syed Nasir was seen as someone who had political ambitions and was constantly engaged in building his own power base in the UMNO by exploiting the language issue (von Vorys, 1975:201). Meanwhile, Tunku‟s decision not to support the NLAF was also due the fact that the official language issue had become contentious as the Chinese educationists, led by Sim Mow Yu, had resurrected the Chinese language movement. Apparently, Tunku did not want himself to embroil in the official language issue in order to maintain his status as a supra-communal leader who had the interests of all ethnic groups in mind.
The setback faced by the NLAF did not stopped Syed Nasir from taking further actions to ensure that Malay was made the sole official language. In October 1966, he launched an attack on the MCA – the MCA had earlier demanded the wider use of Chinese for official purposes, though it had later dropped this demand.
He made a public issue of a signboard with Chinese characters outside the office of Bernard Lu, Political Secretary to the MCA President, Tan Siew Sin. He was fed up with the usual argument that signboards in other languages were mere translations of the national language as guidance to those who were not literate in the national language. Within a fortnight of his blatant attack on the MCA, Syed Nasir made a bold move by dispatching a confidential memorandum to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, all Cabinet Members, all State Chief Ministers and all members of the UMNO Executive Council reminding them of the constitutional commitment on the national language and the dire consequences of allowing the liberal use of Chinese for official purposes (von Vorys, 1975:203).
He maintained that the question of compromise did not arise as far as the official language was concerned. He argued that Malay becoming the national language and the official language was a logical fact and a right of the language. He alleged the Chinese for making excessive demand on the official language issue and queried their intention for making such a demand. He launched a personal attack on the Chinese for the lack of contentment despite their comfortable position in the country:
The position of the Chinese in this country is very comfortable. They are allowed to do business freely; they are allowed to collect property extensively; they are rich, they hold the country‟s economy without any disturbance. They had a heavenly life in this country compared to the Chinese in other places. What else do they want from the Malays? (vonVorys, 1975:204).
Syed Nasir‟s memorandum received the overwhelming support of radical young turks in the UMNO such as Dr Mahathir Mohamed, Dato Harun Haji Idris and Abdul Rahman Ya‟kub. Most UMNO members supported the main thrust of his memorandum, i.e., Malay must become the sole national language with no further concessions to other communities as it was constitutional and fair. But they questioned the wisdom of the timing and the selflessness of Syed Nasir‟s motive in dispatching the memorandum and left it to the UMNO central leadership to decide on the official language issue (von Vorys, 1975:205).
In addressing the official language issue, Tunku Abdul Rahman was particularly concerned with the vulnerable position of the MCA – the MCA had struggled to deal with the Chinese language movement. Thus, Tunku did not want the recognition of Malay as the sole official language to be seen by the Chinese as a Malay communal victory, as this would lead to their accusation that the MCA had sold out to the Malays (von Vorys, 1975:205). Subsequently, Tunku tried to appeal to the Chinese to be rational in dealing with the official language issue. In October 1966, while delivering a speech at the Penang Free School, he promised that if non-Malays adopted a reasonable stand on the official language issue, the government might even allow for the liberal use of other languages in official matters. Apparently,Tunku was referring to the liberal use of English and not Chinese or Tamil. He sees the continued use of English as essential for ensuring high educational standards and administrative efficiency (Funston, 1980:66).
This had become the guiding principle upon which the National Language Act was enacted despite the disapproval of the Malay nationalists. Meanwhile, without the support of the MCA, the Chinese language movement had failed to make any breakthrough. The National Language Act, which was passed by the Parliament on 3 March 1967, had made Malay the sole official language but allowed the continued use of English for official purposes.Clause 4 of the Act stipulates that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (His Majesty the King) may permit the continued use of the English language for such official purposes as may be deemed fit. It also stuck by Article 152 of the Federal Constitution with regard to the use of other languages (see Haris, 1983:298-300). It is clear that the enactment of the National Language Act could not satisfy both the Malay nationalists and the Chinese educationists. The Malays nationalists were particularly bitter that the Act had not fulfilled the constitutional promises with regard to the use of English for official purposes. Led by the NLAF, several demonstrations were held in Kuala Lumpur, the state capital, to denounce the Act (Haris, 1983:185).
As for the Chinese educationists, they were utterly disappointed that the Chinese language was not recognized as an official language of the country despite their incessant efforts for over a decade.
Now folks back to the issue of PPSMI
According to our National Language Act
Continued use of English may be permitted
4. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may permit the continued use of the English language for such official purposes as may be deemed fit. Go here
There is an interesting case that have proved that clause
KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Bernama) -- Four students on Friday failed in their attempt to have the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English since 2003 be declared null and void when the High Court rejected their application.
Judge Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh dismissed with costs their applications after hearing explanations from both sides in chambers. Lawyer Mohamed Hanipa Maidin represented the four students during the proceeding while Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan appeared for the government.Suzana when met by reporters said the judge decided that the two circulars on the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science (PPSMI) in national schools and national-type (Chinese and Tamil) schools did not contradict Article 152 of the Federal Constitution.
She said Article 152 provided for Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) to be the national language while it remained the medium of instruction in schools.
The four students had filed their applications on Jan 21, 2006. Mohammad Syawwaal Mohammad Nizar who was then a Year Four pupil, made his application through his father, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, an engineer and the former Perak Menteri Besar. The others were Form Three students, Mohammad Fadzil Nor Mohd. Rosni and Nur Najihah Muhaimin, and Syazaira Arham Yahya Ariff, a Form Four student, who also made their applications through their fathers.
The four named the Malaysian government as the respondent.
In their writ of summons, the applicants had, among others, claimed that their right to learn the two subjects in the national language had been denied with the implementation of the PPSMI policy.
In regard to this, they asked that the court order the respondent to revert to the teaching of the two subjects in the national language as provided in the Federal Constitution.
They also applied for a declaration that the respondent had no power to implement the PPSMI policy as contained in the circular dated Nov 27, 2002 Mohamed Hanipa said he would appeal against the court's decision.Ask yourself ....
-- BERNAMA Go here
Would the Court have ruled the same if these students were from Vernacular Schools?
Anyway folks monkey thinks its Royal Rumble Time!
Since sikit2 mau jual royal commission aku pun nak mintak sebijik Royal Commission
I CALL FOR THE SET UP OF A ROYAL COMMISSION ON NATIONAL EDUCATION
THE BASIC TERM OF REFERENCES IS CAPTURED IN OUR MEMORANDUM TO THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION
WE CANNOT TRUST THE GOVERNMENT OR ANY OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES ANYMORE TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE.
THE ULTIMATE GUARDIAN NEEDS TO INTERVENE
UPDATE:
Mandarin translation turned off at IRB websiteBERNAMA Monday, April 25th, 2011 19:29:00KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board or Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (LHDNM) today clarified that its official website is in the Bahasa Malaysia and English languages only and it has started work on a full Mandarin version website."The Mandarin version web is still not available at this point in time," the tax department said in a statement today.
However, the translated version of the income tax submission Form B or BE in PDF could be viewed in the Bahasa Malaysia website, IRB said, adding that taxpayers would have to fill in the official return form in Bahasa Malaysia.
Considering the large amount of requests for the web to be in Mandarin, the income tax department has been facilitating this by just turning the direct translation by Google with a disclaimer, it said.
The IRB also announced that the Google auto-translation has been switched off from this morning.
In the disclaimer, the IRB says that it is not liable for any loss or damage caused by the usage of any information obtained from the direct translation provided by Google.more here
So macam mana Pejuang -Pejuang Bahasa?
Lu sleeping at the Switch ka?
Is IRB not contravening Article 152 by planning to have its Website in Mandarin?