Rahman said this in response to research published recently by the Yusof Ishak Institute at the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas), that most Johor parents want English-medium schools for their children in the southern state.
“Discussions on the issue of English-medium schools will never end. It could even become a political issue,” he said after launching TalentCorp’s Future of Work, Workplace, Workforce Conference here today.
The study by the institute also reported that the key reason Johor parents want to send their children to English-medium schools was due to the English competency of high school graduates in Singapore.
The Barisan Nasional strategic communications director advised parents, education NGOs and other stakeholders to speak out if they want the government to create English-medium schools.
“I believe parents want their children to master the language as it helps to create more opportunities for their child in the future.”
Rahman, who is Kota Belud MP, said his home state of Sabah is willing to be the first state to have English-medium schools.
“If we cannot have it in the whole country, I am very sure Sabah will be willing to be the first state to have one,” he said.
In May this year, Rahman told Putrajaya to let Sabah be the first to have state-funded English-medium schools, if the peninsula was not ready to revive such schools following the public education system having changed to the Bahasa Malaysia medium in the 1970s.
However, the Sarawak government was the first to propose such a move in September 2016, with former chief minister Adenan Satem, who died in January this year, saying the state would support the setting up of English-medium schools.
‘Let Sabah set up own state-funded English medium schools’
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