50 Tan Yao Sua and R. Santhiram
policy may not bring about a stable diglossic relationship between the
Malay language and English among the non-Malays. Instead, it will further
consolidate the favoured position of English among the non-Malays.
There is a high possibility that the strengthening of English by the
MBMMBI policy will result in more non-Malays opting for educational
institutions that teach in English, especially at the tertiary level where
private institutions of higher learning exist in large numbers. The problem
is that these private institutions of higher learning are predominantly
attended by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, for a host of different
reasons (including preference for English medium of instruction), and
since the public institutions of higher learning are predominantly attended
by the Malays (non-Malays are found in substantial numbers only in
critical courses), this has resulted in an ethnic divide at the tertiary level.
This ethnic divide will be widened if more non-Malays are to opt for the
private institutions of higher learning as a result of current measures by
the government to strengthen the proficiency of English among Malaysian
students. This is because prior to these measures, many non-Malay parents,
especially those from smaller urban areas where English is not pervasively
used, were quite reluctant to send their children to the private institutions
of higher learning for the simple reason that their children may not be able
to cope with the English medium of instruction. However, this linguistic
barrier will be reduced following the implementation of the MBMMBI
policy and these parents will now have the confidence to send their children
to the private institutions of higher learning.
There is also a high possibility that current efforts by the government
to strengthen the proficiency of English among Malaysian students will
lead to more parents sending their children to international schools that
offer the International General Certificate of Secondary Education or the
Cambridge ‘O’ Level. Such a possibility is not entirely unfounded given the
impressive growth of international schools in the country in recent years.
International schools have long existed in Malaysia. They were originally
established for the expatriate population but subsequently opened their
doors to local students with a stipulated quota (initially 10 per cent and
subsequently 40 per cent). The strong development of international schools
actually began in 1996 when the government allowed the establishment
of private educational institutions that used English as a medium of
instruction. By 2008, there were 40 international schools in the country with
a total enrolment of 13,811 students (Ministry of Education Malaysia 2008).