After Samy’s not-so-subtle reminder that support for BN will erode, the government today revised its own decision. I’m still not clear on the details (and that is worrying too) – but more on that later. On one side, MIC is being praised for able to convince the government to allow students to take up to 12 subject for SPM, while on the hand, some consider this as fixing a problem which self-created in the first place. And shockingly, it needs intervention of PM to solve the problem.

For last 6 months since the implementation was announced, nothing moved. Education Department was strong on its stance, saying limit is 10 subjects as it was cabinet policy. The DG even mentioned about school-level certification,which made the Tamil groups’ blood boil because it looked as if downgrading the language.

Today, news came via FB that cabinet had listened to the points by Dr S.Subra and decided to revise (some already labelled it as flip-flop!) its own decision.

So, no protest next week. Who should we thank? I say Samy Vellu because he knew what words to say that will push the button in the right places. All this while, nothing much happened (Dr Subra said that MIC doing many things but cannot announce, and that’s why people may consider it not being proactive – me included). Well, if don’t announce what you doing, its like digging own grave. Same as like not updating websites. Not easy to have blogs and websites, you know.

The NGO’s also deserve a big thanks, because they decided to push the ante. If not, MIC may have not moved in to solve the problem and save itself more ridicule from the community.

Putera MIC started a petition, which is still in the hundreds of signatures. Should have done that earlier, much earlier. But hey, better late than never!

Who should not be thanked – Those late-comers from certain opposition political parties who issued statements recently. No news for last few month but now want to protest and “save” the Tamil language. No brownie points  for you guys.

OK, let’s move to the solution. I listened to radio and read two papers. Excerpts from Malaysiakini report as below while from  Star report is after that.

The cabinet has decided to allow students sitting for the SPM examination to take 12, instead of 10 subjects to let some students to take vernacular language papers.

The decision comes following strong protests from various groups, including MIC and MCA, who argued that the 10-subject cap would not bode well for the future of vernacular languages.

Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said students can include Chinese or Tamil and Chinese or Tamil literature subjects among the 10, but they will not be counted as “officially recognised” subjects.

“The cabinet has decided that the 10-subject cap will remain but we are giving some leeway for students to have options,” said Muhyiddin, who is also deputy prime minister, after chairing the 65th National Land Council meeting in Putrajaya.

He said Education director-general Alimuddin Mohd Dom would provide a more detailed explanation on the matter soon.

According to Muhyiddin, students can still enrol for more than 10 subjects in SPM examinations if they find it useful, but only 10 would be officially recognised.

“They can take (more than 10 subjects) but it would not counted for purposes of scholarships and other matters. (Additional subjects) might be useful for example if someone wants to be a Tamil teacher and wants to show qualifications,” he said.

“They can take 12 or 11 subjects but it will not be considered in the 10 core and elective subjects,” stressed Muhyiddin.

The cabinet’s decision to limit 10-subject cap has caused outcry because vernacular languages would lose its official recognition at the SPM level.

… In an immediate reaction, MIC president S Samy Vellu lauded the cabinet for making the changes.

“I thank the prime minister and the deputy prime minister for agreeing to our (MIC’s) request,” he said.

Yesterday, Samy Vellu had appealed to Najib Abdul Razak to step in and resolve the issue.

“The prime minister has heard and acted on our request,” said the MIC president, adding that the cabinet’s decision reflected the true spirit of the ‘1Malaysia’ concept.

“The prime minister has understood the feelings of the Indian community. He is a true leader for all Malaysians,” he said, adding that Najib should be congratulated for making a bold move.

Samy Vellu said he hoped the issue will be put to rest, and all concerned parties will accept the decision.

“Tamil language and Tamil literature will continue to flourish in this country with the cabinet’s decision,” he said.

He said that the cabinet’s decision proved that all issues can be resolved through negotiations with the government and not through other means.

“We (the MIC) will continue with this (negotiations) on other issues and I am confident that the government under Najib’s leadership will strive to do the best for the people of all races,” he said.

Samy Vellu also congratulated MIC vice-president Dr S Subramaniam, who is also the human resources minister for securing a solution to the long-standing issue in today’s cabinet meeting.

The Star:

Students sitting for the SPM examination can take two additional subjects but exam results will only be based on 10 subjects, said Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the matter was decided by the Cabinet request by certain quarters that the ministry allowed students to sign up for 12 subjects.

Muhyiddin, who is also Deputy Prime Minister said the matter was also raised in the Cabinet meeting by Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.

“The Cabinet has decided to give students the flexibility to take two additional subjects for their SPM exams. However, the results of the two additional subjects will not be counted as part of the SPM results. Their SPM results will be based on the 10 main subjects.

“Education director-general (Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom) will announce the details soon,” he told reporters after chairing the National Land Council meeting Friday.

Muhyiddin said if a student took 12 subjects for SPM, results that would be considered for scholarships, for instance, would be based on the 10 main subjects.

“However, if a student aspired to become a Tamil language teacher, the results of the additional subjects may be used to determine if they qualify to sign up for such courses,” he said.

Recently, youth wings from MIC, Gerakan, MCA and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had asked the Education Ministry to review its decision to cap the number of subjects in the SPM examination at 10.

They wanted students be allowed to sit for 12 subjects to cater to those keen on Literature or Tamil or Chinese languages.

So, what does it mean? We have two category of subjects: core and elective (which have own sub-branches). For Science stream there are 5 core subjects, and 6 for Arts stream students. Science stream students would take 4 subjects from pure science group, so total nine subjects have been taken, leaving room for one more subject that will be counted for 10 official subjects. That means the Science stream student can choose to take any one from the following: Geography, Accounts, Economy, Tamil, Mandarin, Tamil Literature, Chinese Literature, Malay Literature, English Literature, Arts etc. After that, he/she can choose another two subjects from any group as per his interest. For Arts stream, its similar except that the core subjects are 6, thus leaving only 4 place for elective subjects for the compulsory 10 places. OK, fair enough.

Question is, can the student choose language/literature subjects as part of the compulsory 10, or is it limited to the “extra two ” category?  We have to wait for the details later.

Anyway, its a simple solution, yet effective on the face of it. In fact I think I have read similar suggestion in one of the forums (lowyat or recom). Why wasn’t this done earlier? – could have saved lots of time and hassle. Makes me wonder if the public is smarter than leaders (obviously yes since more heads are better than one!) or even if the leaders are capable and competent in the first place.

Education Ministry says:

The Education Ministry is staying firm with its decision to limit the number of subjects Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia candidates may take to 10.

The ministry has no plans to make special provision for SPM candidates wishing to take additional vernacular subjects.

Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said the 10-subject limit was a cabinet policy that could not be changed at this point. [which Dr Subra is a member of. Maybe the cabinet members not agreeable with his arguments]

He said schools where such vernacular subjects were taught could take the initiative to issue special certificates to students who took school examinations in vernacular subjects, for Form Five school leavers. [initiative? This guy must be joking!]

Alimuddin told the New Straits Times that these certificates could be produced by students when they wished to apply for jobs requiring proficiency in a vernacular subject. [Would employers accept it? Maybe need to have 3rd party certification?]

He said otherwise the students could use the school report cards which also show their proficiency in the vernacular subject. [but it won’t be standardised]

And thus the call for centralized coordination:

Schools which want to offer the vernacular language examinations for students unable to take these subjects at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level must be centrally coordinated to ensure standards.

Principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria said the Education Ministry must be in charge of this.

“The learning of community languages is our heritage and should be encouraged especially in line with 1Malaysia,” he said.

National Collaborative Parent-Teacher Association of Malaysia president Assoc Prof Datuk Mohd Ali Hasan said an agency within the ministry such as the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate (MES) should set the guidelines for these examinations.“The MES has to monitor the examinations set by schools to ensure quality as there would be no standardisation if all schools were to set their own papers,” he said.

… United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) deputy chairman Chow Siew Hon said he disagreed with the suggestion as there would be no standardisation and consistency if schools came up with their own exams to evaluate students.

“My concern does not just revolve around the future of Chinese and Tamil languages but also how the ruling to limit students to taking only 10 subjects for SPM would affect students’ learning and decision when selecting the SPM subjects for the courses that they want to pursue at tertiary level,” he said.

But Dr Ramasamy was more direct:

Education director-general Alimuddin Mohd Dom has been told to resign over his failure to find an amicable solution to the ’10 subject’ Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination controversy.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister 2 P Ramasamy slammed Alimuddin for suggesting the ‘bizarre’ idea for schools to draw up their own vernacular language examinations to overcome the hindrance to students caused by the 10-subject SPM cap.

Yesterday, Alimuddin said schools can conduct their own examinations on respective vernacular language subjects and issue certificates to the students to acknowledge their level of proficiency.

Commenting on this, Ramasamy said: “He is not listening to the people’s views and opinions.”

“He is trying to bulldoze an examination policy that would kill vernacular subjects from the country’s schooling system.

“He is incompetent and insensitive over the education needs of all Malaysians. He is not fit to head such an important portfolio,” he told reporters at the Penang state assembly.

Ramasamy plans to table a motion at the ongoing assembly sitting to pass a resolution calling on the federal government to scrap the 10-subject cap and increase it to minimum 12-subject cap.

He said only a minimum 12-subject cap would enable Indian and Chinese students to sit for their vernacular language and literature subjects for SPM.

He said the 10-subject grand plan would first discourage students from taking up their mother tongue subjects at the secondary and tertiary levels, which ultimately would create a severe shortage of teachers in vernacular schools.

Eventually, he said vernacular schools, including 534 existing Tamil schools, would have to close down due to dearth of teachers.

“The 10-subject magical formula is damaging to the Indian and Chinese communities. It’s an Umno grand plan to banish Tamil and Mandarin in the country,” added the former university lecturer.

Over the last 10 years, he said students taking up Tamil language and literature subjects for SPM have gone up, from 340 in 1998 to 4,391 in 2008. [can verify this or not?]

“It shows the interests of students to learn their own mother tongue has gone up,” he said.

More than 20 national Indian non-government organisations (NGOs) have already planned to stage a protest on Dec 12 at the Wisma Peladang in Petaling Jaya against the ministry’s attempt to introduce the 10-subject SPM formula.

Ramasamy welcomed the rally and hinted he would take part in it.

“Indians definitely need to hold a major protest against this infringement of our language rights,” he said.

Oh ya, MIC Youth submitted memorandum protesting the limit to DPM today.