PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA - The future of our schoolchildren will be compromised with the Government reversing the teaching of Science and Mathematics from English to Bahasa Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

Dr Mahathir, who was behind the original policy of teaching both subjects in English, said his intention was to ensure that Malaysians were able to face global challenges at the earliest opportunity.

Expressing sadness on the policy reversal, he said schoolchildren would find it difficult to know more about the developments in the field of Science.

'These matters, of course, cannot be resolved overnight. But it's the Government's responsibility to train and supply capable teachers. I'm confident that our teachers will be able to study and teach in English,' he told reporters at his Perdana Leadership Foundation office yesterday.

Dr Mahathir said it was good that more teachers would be trained in English.

'But if we can train teachers to learn English, why can't we do the same by training them to learn and teach Science and Mathematics in English?' the former Prime Minister asked.

Dr Mahathir also questioned why no one protested when the medium of teaching in English in the colonial times was changed to Bahasa Malaysia.

'And at that time, not many teachers knew the national language. Now, it's all right if we mix a little bit of Malay and English, but at the same time we need to improve the ability of our teachers too,' he added.

On his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the Education Minister, before the new policy was announced, Dr Mahathir said he was only given a briefing.