I REFER to the current discussion arising from the report on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's acknowledgement that his policy on bilingualism started on the wrong footing ('MM Lee wants learning of Chinese to be fun' last Wednesday).

I am comforted that finally someone at this high level of government has come to see my point of view, which I have voiced for a long time.

I wrote to The Straits Times about 20 years ago when my son was nine, appealing for official help and describing his traumatic experience: he suffered in school because of his poor Chinese, he was picked on by the Chinese teacher, he lost his self-esteem and hated school.

I remember the criticism heaped on me from several quarters, although a few columnists offered a more sympathetic and even-handed view of my son's dilemma.

My son believed there was no way out of his misery and that was when I told him we could emigrate.

We left Singapore and settled in another country, Australia. Here, my son was immediately spotted by his teacher to be talented. His English was flawless. He could speed-read with 100 per cent comprehension and retention.

Today, his skill enables him to do well at work, as he can read a complex 100-page document in a few minutes, with no need to scroll back to refresh his memory.

My second son also did well in Australia. When his IQ was tested, he scored 176. At age nine, when he was in Year 5 (Primary 4), a government-funded test revealed that his mental capacity was that of Year 9 (Secondary 2), so he was fast-tracked in a talent school.

By contrast, in 1989, when I asked Singapore's Ministry of Education to enrol my second son when he was five, I was turned down because the system did not allow exceptions.

I have pondered in the past few days whether we would have stayed in Singapore if the bilingual policy in the early 1990s had been less harsh. My answer would probably be yes.

There was no compelling reason for us to leave other than my older son's predicament. But there is no point in rewinding the clock. The new country has nurtured my sons well, and I am grateful.

I am pleased MM Lee has signalled that the bilingual policy will be toned down to suit different abilities.

Pauline Tan (Mrs)
Brisbane, Australia

This article was first published in The Straits Times.