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| Riot police fire tear gas to break up the protest march against the use of English to teach maths and science in Kuala Lumpur today. — AP pic |
UPDATED
KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Riot police fired tear gas to disperse more than 2,000 people who tried to march to the Istana Negara today to protest the use of English to teach maths and science.
The demonstrators sought to submit a petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to demand that Bahasa Malaysia be reinstated in schools for the two subjects.
Many Malay teachers and linguists complain that a six-year-old policy of using English has hurt efforts to modernise their mother tongue and to develop a scientific lexicon in Malay.
The protesters marched through busy traffic, chanting "Long live the Malay language!" for about half an hour after gathering at Kuala Lumpur's main mosque. Police then fired several rounds of tear gas, causing them to disperse.
Authorities warned people earlier this week not to attend the demonstration, saying organisers had not obtained a necessary police permit to hold a public rally.
The Star newspaper reported on its website that police detained 124 protesters.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan told The Star that authorities "had no choice but to use tear gas to disperse the crowd who refused to listen to police warnings."
English was once the medium of instruction in most schools in Malaysia, a former British colony. Nationalist leaders reversed the policy and made Malay the main medium of instruction less than two decades after independence in 1957.
In 2003, believing that poor English-language skills were undermining students, authorities started a programme to resume teaching maths and science in English. Other subjects continued to be taught in Malay.
The government began a review to gauge the policy's success last year. But protracted discussions with teachers, parents and political activists have so far achieved no clear solution.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that mastering foreign languages is a beneficial skill that should not be misconstrued "as negating the importance of the Malay language itself."
Bernama quoted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today as saying he hopes that a decision on the review is made immediately to prevent it from becoming a bigger issue. — Agencies
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