KUALA LUMPUR: The government will not return to the policy of teaching and learning Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) as the new policy of dignifying Bahasa Malaysia usage and raising English proficiency (MBMMBI) is in line with the country’s need to dignify Bahasa Melayu as the national language.Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said towards this objective, the government would thus not turn back despite appeals and pressure for PPSMI to continue, as the government could not please every group.

“However, their views have been considered in planning and implementing the MBMMBI policy,” he said in his reply to Mohd Nor Othman (BN-Hulu Terengganu) who wanted to know whether the government could ensure that it would not return to the old policy.

Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister, said to avoid problems when implementing MBMMBI as what happened with PPSMI, the government had set 2012 for its implementation so as to give enough time for preparations, unlike the six months taken to prepare for PPSMI’s implementation.

For instance, he said, the ministry would need 13,000 additional teachers while to improve students’ English proficiency, it would need many teachers who had mastered the language, including the 1,000 to be recruited from next year.

To a question from Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) whether former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s strong statement against the PPSMI being discontinued would have an impact on the current administration, Muhyiddin said he believed that Dr Mahathir did not mean asking the government to reverse its new policy.

“He (Dr Mahathir) understands … that it was the decision of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government and he’s an Umno and BN supporter. And I had already stated that is was not all about the national language but also the English language. So, English usage will also be strengthened.”

Later speaking to reporters at the parliament lobby, Muhyiddin said the people should not be unduly worried about the reversal of policy as the government was already taking preliminary measures to implement the new policy (MBMMBI) in 2012.

“We may even have to recruit English teachers from abroad,” he said, adding that the implementation of the new policy also meant the urgent need to produce Science and Mathematics textbooks in Bahasa Malaysia as well as a new curriculum for teaching English.

He said the ministry was also looking at the possibility of implementing MBMMBI in 2011 for Year One pupils only as they would not be involved in PPSMI.

“However, this will depend on several factors like whether there will be enough teachers, and whether the new curriculum and Science and Mathematics textbooks will be ready by the end of 2010.”

Muhyiddin said for Year Four, Form One and Form Four students, the implementation of MBMMBI would commence in 2012, to enable the ministry to make proper preparations. — Bernama