By Teo Cheng Wee, Regional Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Malaysia's decision to scrap the controversial policy of teaching maths and science in English was greeted with both delight and despair here yesterday, a day after the announcement was made by the government.

The strong opinions from opposing sides suggest that the policy - a deeply divisive issue since it was implemented six years ago - will continue to give the authorities a headache.

Malay and Chinese interest groups cheered its abolition, which will take place in stages from 2012.

They had been campaigning against PPSMI, the policy's initials in Bahasa Malaysia, even before it was introduced in 2003.

Learning maths and science in English, said Malay linguists and Chinese educationists, reduces students' proficiency in their mother tongue, which they associate closely with culture and racial identity.

Dr Yap Sin Tian, president of the influential United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Zong), even suggested that the switch be made immediately, rather than wait till 2012.

Maths and science were previously taught in Bahasa in national schools, and in Mandarin or Tamil in vernacular schools.

The decision to switch to English was made by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, in a bid to arrest declining English standards.

As such, a reversal after just six years also triggered a rash of unhappy reactions from many parents, who saw it as a sign that the education system was going backwards.

The Star daily reported yesterday that some parents were now 'seriously considering' sending their children to international schools or Singapore schools.

One parent called Sin Chew Daily, saying his child broke down in tears when he heard the news because he will have studied maths and science in English for nine years by 2012. Then he has to switch to Malay for two years before the crucial SPM exams - Malaysia's equivalent of the O levels.

'They have turned my child into a guinea pig,' he said.

Tun Dr Mahathir added his voice again yesterday to those against abolition of the policy.

In a move to pile pressure on the government, he set up a poll on his popular blog.

He wrote: 'Seems to me like the government is not listening to the voice of the people. Perhaps a blog poll might enlighten the government as to the opinions of the people.'

The poll drew thousands of respondents in mere hours. About three-quarters of them were against the government's decision.

But the strong views from opposing camps mean that whatever the government decides, it is unlikely to please everyone.

The fact is that some will benefit from it while others won't, one English school teacher told The Straits Times.

'If the government wanted PPSMI to bear fruit, they would have had to stick to it for another five years at least,' said Madam Aishah Abdullah, who teaches English in a secondary school in Kedah.

It is unlikely that the authorities will bow to any pressure to change the policy again.

Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the government's decision yesterday.

'We think that increasing the teaching hours for (English language) and introducing English literature is a better way than teaching science and mathematics in English,' he told reporters.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.