Let the people decide on the choice of school

LAST week, a senior government officer,an uncle of mine in Putrajaya told me his eldest son completed his studies at International School Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) and was now working with Petronas.
I asked him what the difference was between his son and those who studied at Sekolah Kebangsaan.He said there is indeed a vast difference. He discovered, to his happiness, that his son has high self-esteem and was very confident of himself; he likes to read and is very articulate, with an excellent command of English.He is very lucky. Not so the majority of Malaysians who can't afford to send their children to international schools.In the 1950s, 60s and early 70s, children from poor families, including myself, were able to study in English-medium schools (Batu Road Boys School). Going to an English school has benefited me tremendously.
The present generation is the product of the post-Merdeka education system, where a majority have to struggle to master the English language. Many are unable to read basic English reading materials such as newspapers, not to mention serious scholarly work or novels.Since they are handicapped in English they depend very much on the government for employment as English is not widely used in government departments.I don't understand why the government will not re-introduce English-medium schools while retaining vernacular schools. The rakyat should be given the option of deciding which schools they want their children to go to, as in the old days. Going to an English school doesn't mean we are less nationalistic or may lose our ability to speak Bahasa Malaysia.I don't see any problem re-introducing English-medium schools, except for the possible repercussions for some politicians. But these politicians must not only think of themselves. They must think of future generations.The present government must muster the political will to re-introduce English-medium schools, beginning from Primary One. Malaysia is a multiracial country and our history is different from Japan, France, Russia and Germany. Indonesian graduates have problems marketing themselves overseas for lack of English compared to the Indian subcontinent graduates, where English is used as a medium of instruction.