Another demonstration on the horizon but will the government listen?
It has been two years since the abolishment of the policy of Teaching and Learning of Maths and Science in English (PPSMI) but parent groups are determined to continue fighting for its full reinstatement.
About 5,000 disgruntled parents from across Peninsular Malaysia are expected to gather at Dataran PJ on March 10 to protest the “deplorable” state of the education system and repeat their call for the PPSMI to be brought back.
At a press conference this morning, the Concerned Parents Selangor’s (CPS) coordinator, Shamsudin Hamid, said that the rally was a peaceful assembly and he was confident that obtaining a permit would not be an issue.
“We are not going to bring politics into this issue,” he stated. “Our intent isn’t to arm-twist the government ahead of the general election. The only thing that matters is the future of our children.”
Yet he issued a subtle reminder to the government that parents were also voters and in this case, there were a total of 280,000 voters supporting the return of the PPSMI.
According to Shamsudin, 30,000 letters have been mailed to the government from Penang, Malacca and Selangor.
In addition, 250,000 parents had submitted online votes in favour of PPSMI. However, he said, the government has yet to acknowledge their voices.
“If nothing moves after the March 10 rally, we will hold similar rallies in Malacca, Penang, Perak and Sabah,” Shamsudin said. “What we are afraid of is a hidden agenda at the top level of the government.”