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Australian daily admits mistake Posted: 04 Nov 2011 11:02 AM PDT The correction that was published in The West Australian on Thursday. KUALA LUMPUR: An Australian newspaper admitted that it had wrongly reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's daughter had shopped excessively during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth recently. The report titled "Corrections and clarifications" was printed in the Letters section of The West Australian on Thursday. "In a report in The West Australian on Monday about shopping and sightseeing by CHOGM delegates, it was claimed that a daughter of Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak had spent A$60,000 in David Jones. "The West Australian acknowledges that this was not the case and that Mr Najib's daughter was not in Perth at the time. "It is the policy of The West Australian to correct significant errors as quickly as possible," it said. A copy of the page was emailed to the New Straits Times by The West Australian reporter Neale Prior. On Monday, The West Australian, reported that Najib's daughter spent a whopping RM198,000 (A$60,000) in David Jones, a high-end department store at a shopping centre in Perth, the city where this year's CHOGM was held. The same report also stated that "one first lady" purchasedWest Australian pearls worth RM495,000 (A$150,000), but did not name the per son. On Tuesday, the Malaysian consulgeneral in Perth, Hamidah Ashari, wrote to The West Australian's editor and said her officewas appalled with the article titled, "Delegates go shopping, sightseeing". Hamidah denied Najib's daughter was part of the prime minister's delegation attending CHOGM, nor was she in Perth at the time. The prime minister's political secretary, Datuk Fatmi Che Salleh, had also said the article was incorrect. The report had been circulating online, particularly in opposition sites. Hamidah yesterday said she was pleased with the clarification made by the newspaper. "I am glad that The West Australian acknowledged their mistake promptly." Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

English option until 2020 Posted: 04 Nov 2011 10:59 AM PDT 2011/11/05 By Farrah Naz Karim farrah@nst.com.my Decision made in best interests of 5 million students PUTRAJAYA: Primary and secondary school students currently studying Science and Mathematics in English will be allowed to do so until they complete their schooling, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. The decision to allow a gradual phasing out of English for the teaching of the two subjects was made in the best interests of the estimated five million students in the country and after taking into account the views of parents and various groups. But at the same time, the Education Ministry will take steps to strengthen the teaching of English as a subject in schools. "With this soft-landing approach, the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in primary schools will be carried out fully in Bahasa Malaysia in 2016 while at the secondary school level, the full use of BM for the two subjects will be in 2021. "If PPSMI (the Teaching of Science and Mathematics in English policy) is continued, the majority of pupils will fail to grasp Science and Mathematics well and will be left behind," Muhyiddin told a press conference following a cabinet meeting which discussed the matter yesterday. Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said national school students would be allowed to study the subjects either fully in English, Bahasa Malaysia or both. Like their peers at national primary schools, Year Three to Six pupils (next year) in vernacular schools can opt to learn Science and Mathematics in their mother tongue or English or both. The last PPSMI group is the current Year Two pupils, as those in Year One this year had come under the upholding the Malay language and strengthening the command of English policy (MBMMBI). Explaining the scrapping of PPSMI, Muhyiddin said despite the introduction of the policy, teachers and pupils at most schools had been teaching and learning both subjects in Bahasa Malaysia. Studies conducted at all schools under the ministry's purview, he said, showed that less than five per cent of the number of classes at 7,495 primary schools fully used English for the teaching and learning of the subjects. At the secondary level, less than nine per cent of classes at 2,192 schools fully adopted PPSMI. "Based on these findings, most pupils were being taught and were learning Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia. "The studies proved that PPSMI cannot be implemented as we had hoped. "With this decision, the government has no plans to reintroduce PPSMI as demanded by certain quarters." Muhyiddin said based on studies on PPSMI, including through observation of classes as well as interviews with teachers and pupils, the ministry found that pupils had difficulties understanding the subjects when taught in English. Pupils also found it difficult to master concepts in Science and Mathematics as they did not understand English. Hence, Muhyiddin said, teachers were forced to teach in Bahasa Malaysia, adding that this problem was not only prevalent in rural schools but also urban ones. On strengthening the English language, Muhyiddin said the government was in the midst of implementing various initiatives that would help pupils improve their command of the language. He said emphasis would also be given to strengthening the English language syllabus under the newlyintroduced Primary School Standard Curriculum, introduction of native speakers and training of teachers. Also in the pipeline are programmes like the oral skill programme and a "set classroom system", where pupils would be divided according to their level of English proficiency so that the right focus could be given to them. Muhyiddin said the abolishment of PPSMI was a unanimous cabinet decision that had the blessings of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Najib had also suggested that to improve pupils' command of English, English Literature should be introduced. Full content generated by Get Full RSS.

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