For Michael Manyin to claim that we DAP has no suggestion on how to improve the standard of English amongst the young in Sarawak, he must have been sleeping in DUN in the past 2 years when I was debating.
We DAP Sarawak have construction and workable suggestions on how to improve the standard of English amongst the students in Sarawak. The sad facts is that the BN Government has consistently turned a deaf ear to our suggestion.
To reply to Michael Manyin, I do not mind to repeat the DAP Sarawak’s suggestion on how to improve the standard of English amongst the young in Sarawak which I have mentioned in DUN several times.
Our Suggestion:
- To improve the standard of English, there is no other way except to revive the English schools system in Sarawak. DAP Sarawak has proposed that the State Government allocate fund to set up English private schools or revive the English medium mission schools systems.
- At present, there are only a handful private schools where English is the medium of instruction. As private schools, students have to pay school fees which are not affordable to many low income group.
- If the government were to allocate fund to set up English private schools with no fees payable by the students, that will provide more opportunities to our Sarawakian children to receive English education, especially the lower income families.
- I have also suggested that such English schools be not confined only to the urban region but also suburban and rural areas.
Michael Manyin’s claims that education policies are federal matter and that his ministry is only there to complement the federal MOE and thus has no power to formulate policies. This is just another lame excuse by Michael Manyin to run away from his responsibility. If we can have private sector funding private schools with English as the medium of instruction, why can’t the State government fund more of such private schools?
Furthermore, if the State MOE cannot even formulate policy on education, then it is actually a department of the Federal MOE, disguised as a State Ministry to give the State BN a “syiok sendiri” feeling.
On Michael Manyin’s statement that “if I do not agree with his policy, I should just keep quiet”, my respond is that we DAP is not SUPP. For SUPP, whatever PBB decides, SUPP will go along even if it does not agree with the PBB decision.
For DAP, if the policy of the Government is not workable or detriment to the people, we will raise the objection. For the State Government, with billions of reserve fund and a new Ministry of Education set up, to come up with such a ridiculous policy (which even Michael Manyin’s own colleague, Abdul Karim, disagree), it is doing a disservice to our younger generation.
Therefore, it is our duty to voice out and not sit back and keep quiet like those in SUPP or other component parties in BN.
If Michael Manyin is minded to do good in education for our future generation, he should implement the revival of the English medium schools or at least get the State Government to fund some private schools teaching in English so that these schools can provide free English education to the students.
As for Pakatan Harapan, it is our policy that if PH captures PUTRAJAYA, then autonomy in education will be given to Sarawak and that our new education policy will be the setting up of English schools to offer to parents a choice to have their children educated either in Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin or English language.
For now, we welcome the BN Sarawak government to adopt our proposed policy of having “Fully Government Funded English schools in Sarawak”.
Even if BN Sarawak is not willing to adopt our suggestion, we are confident that Sarawakians do not need to wait long for such English schools to be set up in Sarawak because the 14th General Elections is near and the likelihood of PH capturing PUTRAJAYA is high.