Thesun 2009-06-24 Page04 Decision Next Month Says Muhyiddin

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theSun

| WEDNESDAY JUNE 24 2009

news without borders Teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English

Bar sends memo to Nazri on arrest of five lawyers THE Bar Council has submitted a memorandum to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz to register its dissatisfaction over the arrest of five lawyers who offered legal aid to those arrested in a candlelight vigil last month. Bar Council president K. Ragunath said: “We demand an assurance from the prime minister that the rule of law will be respected and that protocol should be implemented to ensure that suspects or detainees have access to legal counsel. “Access to lawyers is an important aspect of the criminal justice system. Arresting lawyers who are carrying out their duties is a great travesty of justice,” he told reporters after a meeting with Nazri in Parliament. Ragunath also called on the police to respect the rule of law. On May 7, five lawyers from the Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre were detained overnight in the Brickfields police headquarters when they tried to offer legal aid to those held while holding a candlelight vigil over the arrest of

Bersih (an election watchdog) activist Wong Chin Huat. Regunath said the council would proceed with legal action against the government, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and Brickfields police officer ASP Wan Abdul Bahari Wan Khalid for unlawful arrest. Nazri, who is the de facto law minister, said he would study the memorandum and act within areas that come under his portfolio, namely legal affairs and judicial reform. He also said a copy of the memorandum would be forwarded to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein on areas involving the police force.

Decision next month, says Muhyiddin Husna Yusop and Giam Say Khoon at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday

Bar Council members led by Ragunath hand over a memorandum to Nazri.

A DECISION on the policy of teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI) will be known early next month, says Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. “It will be a decision benefiting both teachers and schoolchildren as well as the country’s future. A comprehensive analysis and a paper on the direction of PPSMI have been completed and will be presented very soon to the cabinet for final approval,” he said in reply to a question from Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong). Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, told Tan the government had to take some time to evaluate the implications of the policy from various angles and think of ways to improve the overall education system. He said in coming up with a decision, the main factor to be looked into was the English proficiency level of teachers and students and according to research, their command of the language was still at a moderate level. “When we compare the

command of English between students who followed the PPSMI since 2003 and the previous years, we found little difference. The percentage of improvement was quite nominal at between 2% and 3% only. “The reason for this is the moderate level of English proficiency, especially among the teachers. Another problem is, a teacher with a good command of English may not be an expert in teaching science and mathematics and vice versa,” he added. Muhyiddin said the government has decided on several moves to improve the teaching and learning of English in schools. Among others, the ministry was considering introducing an English Literature subject in schools and giving more emphasis on grammar to improve the students’ quality in terms of writing and speaking in the language. “In addition, the ministry will also upgrade the function of school laboratories nationwide so that they can be used as language labora-

tories. The suitable facilities and tools will be provided to meet this purpose,” he added. Other measures include to:

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increase the teaching hours for English;

» add more content to the English syllabus;

» increase the number of qualified English teachers in rural schools; and

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engage the service of foreign English teachers. In Parliament lobby, Pakatan Rakyat MPs said the government should not continue to victimise students with a policy that had failed. Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) said the PPSMI should be abolished while Khalid Samad (PASShah Alam) claimed the policy was implemented without any proper study. “It is obvious that they were not prepared for this and have not taken into account the implications and repercussions. Don’t use our children as guinea pigs,” said Khalid.

DNA Identification Bill passed KUALA LUMPUR: The controversial DNA Identification Bill 2008 was passed with amendments yesterday. Marked by a ferocious debate at the policy stage last year, the bill was passed with nine amendments after a two-day debate at the committee stage. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said the amendments, among others, included Clause 7 on a provision to replace police officers as Forensic DNA chief, deputy chief and officers. The bill stipulates that the posts of Forensic DNA chief, deputy chief and officers tasked with administering and managing the DNA Data Bank would be filled by members of the public, who are qualified and experienced in DNA science. “This is aimed at casting our net further to entice qualified people to manage the DNA Data Bank,” he said when tabling and winding-up debate on the amendments. The Dewan Rakyat also passed an amendment to Clause 13(7) that enable a person, who refused to allow a non-intimate sample from being taken, to be charged. Previously, a sub-clause stated that a police officer could use any means to get or assist in

obtaining a non-intimate sample. Two other clauses were deleted. They were Clause 14 on fines and jail term on a person refusing to hand in a non-intimate sample and Clause 24 that stated the DNA Data Bank information must be accepted as conclusive proofs on DNA identification in court proceedings. Abu Seman said the amendments were in line with proposals submitted by non-government organisations and members of the House during a debate at the policy stage. However, changes suggested by several members of the Houses including from Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Serdang), Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai), Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (PSM-Sungai Siput) and Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) were dismissed. The bill, which was tabled for the second reading in August last year, will pave the way for the formation of the DNA Data Bank, taking and safekeeping of DNA samples, analysis of DNA samples and the use of DNA samples for humanitarian purposes. It will empower the police to take DNA samples from any crime suspects and to make the samples as sources of reference to solve future cases. – Bernama

MACC mum on PKFZ probe ALTHOUGH Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan attended the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) inquiry into the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, the MACC remains mum on the status of its probe. Although there was no press conference after the one-hour meeting, PAC committee member William Leong (PKR-Selayang), when met in the Parliament lobby, told reporters the MACC had informed the PAC that the

PKFZ issue was still under investigation and it was not obliged to brief the PAC on the progress of its probe. “The MACC told us Section 29 of the MACC Act 2008 does not allow the commission to disclose any information about the investigation to us,” he said. Leong said he was disappointed with the reply by MACC because a report was made in 2004 by Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu and investigations were closed as no offences were

found. He said the MACC re-investigated the case in 2007 and until now, the scandal is still under probe although the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the AuditorGeneral’s reports had been produced. “This creates much concern as to how MACC is carrying out its investigations. We hope that it will carry out its job professionally without fear or favour, so that the culprits can be brought to book,” he said.