No to lessons in English

No to lessons in English

KUALA LUMPUR - SEVERAL Malay groups have threatened legal action against the Malaysian government after it missed the Dec 31 deadline set by them to stop teaching Mathematics and Science in English.

The Federation of Malay Writers Associations (Gapena) and other non-governmental Malay organisations are also planning a protest rally on Feb 15 dubbed '152 Rally', named after the article in the Constitution that states Malay is the country's official language, according to Malaysiakini online news.

Gapena's second secretary Hashim Ismail said the decision was reached on Tuesday night after a three-hour meeting of 20 representatives of these groups. 'We decided to give the government one last chance to explain itself up to then.'

Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong had previously said that responses and feedback from the public would have to be studied before the government arrived at the best decision.

Mr Hashim said next month's rally will use coffins to represent 'the death of the Malay language'.

The second stage of their protest will involve legal action, when all else has failed.

Another rally to pressure the government to change its stance has also been planned by the 'Save Malay Language' secretariat - comprising Malay NGOs and opposition parties. It plans to attract some 100,000 people for a rally in March to petition the Malaysian King to intervene in the matter.

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