"saya rasa amat bangga lah sebab perjuangan kami untuk memartabatkan bahasa melayu berjaya dengan pembubaran PPSMI"
-some effin DBP guy on the radio
Hello?? what in the world is wrong with us Malaysians? For all I know, we were heading the right direction then suddenly it's a big U-turn back to the old ways. Why the hell are we going backwards when the rest of the world are leaving us behind? What good does abolishing PPSMI do for our beloved Bahasa Melayu? Do you seriously think that by doing so, our Bahasa Melayu will be protected? Is it worth scrapping "Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggris" for the sake of our mother-tongue?
Well, Let Me Tell You Something...
...about the reality of our bahasa. Those people who blamed PPSMI by suggesting that it's assassinating our adored Bahasa Melayu never realized the fact that DBP is constantly importing English words into our Kamus Dewan Bahasa. Once imported, these "bahasawans" coined the term "bahasa bombastik(also an english word btw.)" to the new jargons. Take for example;
- anjakan paradigma(paradigm shift) - peralihan paradigma drpd satu lingkungan atau batasan kpd sesuatu yg baru (biasanya kpd yg lebih baik).
- konklusi(conclusion) - keputusan pendapat (berdasarkan keterangan, kenyataan, dll), kesimpulan.
- sukses(oh I'm sick of malay girls on tele wishing their friends "semoga suksess!!!") - hasil drpd sesuatu (kegiatan, usaha, dll), terhasilnya (sesuatu), kejayaan.
* yes, all these definitions are from Kamus Dewan Bahasa Edisi(there's another one!) Keempat.
** I guess we need an anjakan paradigma in the way Malaysians use their brains.
Now that I'm done talking about Bahasa Melayu and its so-called "pejuangs", let's look at the other side of the story, the latest horror movie in Malaysian theatres entitled "ENGLISH!!". Imagine a huge poster of a teacher in a classroom teaching science in english, with the caption, "Language Does Matter". Now honestly, back when I was in school, science and maths were taught in bahasa so we students never had any problems(back then) understanding what Rosnani(our beloved Chemistry teacher) said. But, the BIG problem arose when we started our freshmen year in universities, when we had to reassign "get logik" as "logic gates" and "pengamiran" as "integration". And oh man I just have to say that the level of science and maths in colleges are way much harder than the ones taught in schools. So now is the time for the big question. Would you prefer to see our students suffer learning science and maths in schools(when they're still in the introductory level) or suffer later on in universities trying to catch up with the rest of the world? But oh wait. Perhaps these students don't even care if they're left behind, they would most probably walk away nonchalantly saying, "Ah nanti aku bukak bisnes sendiri ah! kaya jugak!". It's not about having a job or becoming some datuk one day, it's about grasping the ever expanding world of knowledge and exterminating ignorance in our community. The thirst for wisdom is what Malaysians are seriously lacking.
Another problem with the implemetation of PPSMI was that the teachers weren't proficient enough. Some might say it was due to lack of training but no I just don't agree. It's just the fact that learning a new language is just not an easy task especially when a person's passed a certain age. So I don't blame those teachers entirely. Let's look at things in a slightly different perspective. Instead of the government spending millions of ringgits to train these "cikgu sains dan matematik" to speak and teach in english, why not teach those already adept english teachers science and maths? As I've stated above, learning a new language is never easy; but learning facts and figures are way much simpler that they could almost be done on the fly! So instead of trying to teach those "Rosnanis" english, why not teach those english teachers elements of the periodic table? But oh well, I guess it's just a lil' bit too late for any suggestions.
So it looks like komposit, karboksilik, asid, elektrolit and bullshit will
remain in Malaysian schools.
suka hati korang lah!
