More than 5,000 demonstrators from Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan had gathered at the National Mosque and were marching to the palace when riot police started firing tear gas and water cannon at them. They were protesting against the use of English in schools to teach maths and science. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Tear gas used on rallying against use of English in schools
Kuala Lumpur - A protest against a controversial education policy in Malaysia turned ugly yesterday after riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at more than 3,000 demonstrators.
The fracas paralysed traffic for two hours in downtown Kuala Lumpur, and 124 people were arrested.
It all started after protesters gathered at the National Mosque to rally against the teaching of maths and science in English, a policy known as PPSMI.
Their plan was to march to the national palace to present a memorandum to the King asking for a return to the use of Malay to teach those subjects.
PPSMI was the brainchild of former premier Mahathir Moha-
mad, who felt it could improve Malaysian students' poor English standards.
The move sparked much unhappiness when it was implemented in 2003, and the government is now reviewing it. The first of the primary school pupils to finish six years of studies under the PPSMI graduated last year.
Rural Malays said their children cannot cope with the subjects when taught in English. Others charge that the teaching of Malay is eroded.
Yesterday, busloads of protesters came from states such as Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan.
University student Ahmad Nasron, a 24-year-old Kelantan native, said that his 12-year-old sister was among those hurt by the policy.
Read the full story in today's Sunday Times.
Comment
Demo and demonstration and democracy. More so demon-crazy.
They ride on demo.
What is education?
If it continues to churn out spoilt brats and social misfits who lack decorum and good manners, then it is not education to nurture kids to grow up as briliant youth for tomorrow but mass confusion, mass turmoil and mass disturbance. Recipes for more chaos in the future.
This is the state of our educational systems worldwide today despite the advancement in currriculum and the methods and equipment in teaching.
It is the same for other fields of human endeavours, be it in finance, law, transport, medical science, general science, the economy, the purchasing power of money, in fact every aspects of human lives and activities, all are heading into deadlocks and dead ends many in desperation, and the financial disintegration is one of them, the latest. More will come if humans continue to trample on the Divine Principles of Cause and Effect.
All are suffering in this very severe times.
Humans have gone beyond the limit in Greed, Lust and Corruption in this degenerative age. It has to be brought to a stop before it kills more species [extincition], and human is not to be overlooked.. It is one of the living things!
Is there hope for the future?
What is the hope in this troubled age?
Is the future in our hands?
Discern.
Using human logic, intelligence and wisdom will not get to the right solution. It will bring more grief later.
What is the solution?
Discern again.
Kuala Lumpur - A protest against a controversial education policy in Malaysia turned ugly yesterday after riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at more than 3,000 demonstrators.
The fracas paralysed traffic for two hours in downtown Kuala Lumpur, and 124 people were arrested.
It all started after protesters gathered at the National Mosque to rally against the teaching of maths and science in English, a policy known as PPSMI.
Their plan was to march to the national palace to present a memorandum to the King asking for a return to the use of Malay to teach those subjects.
PPSMI was the brainchild of former premier Mahathir Moha-
mad, who felt it could improve Malaysian students' poor English standards.
The move sparked much unhappiness when it was implemented in 2003, and the government is now reviewing it. The first of the primary school pupils to finish six years of studies under the PPSMI graduated last year.
Rural Malays said their children cannot cope with the subjects when taught in English. Others charge that the teaching of Malay is eroded.
Yesterday, busloads of protesters came from states such as Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan.
University student Ahmad Nasron, a 24-year-old Kelantan native, said that his 12-year-old sister was among those hurt by the policy.
Read the full story in today's Sunday Times.
Comment
Demo and demonstration and democracy. More so demon-crazy.
They ride on demo.
What is education?
If it continues to churn out spoilt brats and social misfits who lack decorum and good manners, then it is not education to nurture kids to grow up as briliant youth for tomorrow but mass confusion, mass turmoil and mass disturbance. Recipes for more chaos in the future.
This is the state of our educational systems worldwide today despite the advancement in currriculum and the methods and equipment in teaching.
It is the same for other fields of human endeavours, be it in finance, law, transport, medical science, general science, the economy, the purchasing power of money, in fact every aspects of human lives and activities, all are heading into deadlocks and dead ends many in desperation, and the financial disintegration is one of them, the latest. More will come if humans continue to trample on the Divine Principles of Cause and Effect.
All are suffering in this very severe times.
Humans have gone beyond the limit in Greed, Lust and Corruption in this degenerative age. It has to be brought to a stop before it kills more species [extincition], and human is not to be overlooked.. It is one of the living things!
Is there hope for the future?
What is the hope in this troubled age?
Is the future in our hands?
Discern.
Using human logic, intelligence and wisdom will not get to the right solution. It will bring more grief later.
What is the solution?
Discern again.
1 comment:
Whatever the reason for the demonstration, the police need not be so riotous. I saw some video clips on TV, of a policeman wantonly punching a male demonstrator.I think that is totally uncalled for. If you saw demonstrations in other countries, where the demonstrators are actually violent, throwing petrol bombs etc. at the police and the police are a paragon tolerance. In Malaysia the demonstrators are peaceful but the police are so very violent. It may be a matter of time when the the police are going to be given a taste of their own medicine. The police are being encouraged by the higher powers. This may also be a ruse to make people believe that the police are neutral and are not racially biased as when they attacked the other races. For me, I felt it was a peaceful demonstration (if you can call it that) or a peaceful show of disapproval of policies. Such violence by the police was not called for. Let them go for their walk, give that piece of paper to the person at the gate and go home. The police just need to watch the situation from going violent. But in this case it's the police that is causing the violence. Shame on the puppeteers. The personnel on the ground are just following orders.
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