Aliran was asked by The Star on the evening of 29 Dec 2000 to comment on Dr Mahathir's statement regarding the learning of English. The statement below was our response which was completely blacked out.
Finally, the Star carried our response on 2 January 2001 after we had posted it on the Internet with a note saying that it was blacked out.
Some may argue that there was no blackout and that it was merely not used. But publishing it three days after it should have appeared - when events had overtaken the occasion - makes no sense at all.
We were invited to respond to Dr Mahathir's comments, which appeared in a front-page story titled "Master English: Learning the Language does not make a person less of nationalist" in the Star on 29 December 2000. That occasion to respond was no long present by the time it was carried on 2 January 2000. It also gives the impression that we were slow in responding, which wasn't the case.
Our media statements, which are published on our website, used to be always faxed and e-mailed to all the newspapers. As they were not being carried - some may say "not used" but we say "blacked out" - we recently stopped faxing our statements but continued to e-mail them.
Since the boycott of Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times was launched on 1 February 2000, we have also stopped sending Aliran's statements to these media groups. Media Statement To be a Malaysian or a Politician? We agree with Dr Mahathir that "learning the language (English) does not make a person less of a nationalist." The ordinary Malaysian understands this. But do politicians understand this? The politicians are the source of all our problems. If the education system is in a mess, it's because of the politicians. If our very high standard of English has hit rock bottom, it is because of the politicians. When the switch to Bahasa Malaysia was made in the early 70s, rational voices pleaded that Science and Mathematics be taught in English. This was shot down. There was also the suggestion that English Literature be taught to preserve the standard of English. This was ignored. Barisan MPs must decide whether they want to be Malaysians in the larger interest of the country or remain as petty politicians for their narrow interest.
P Ramakrishnan
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