The "Speak/Teach Malay First" Debate in Malaysia (Part 1)

 

The controversy erupted around September 25, 2025, when Dr. Azizah Zain, an associate professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), publicly argued that young children—particularly those from urban Malay families—should master Bahasa Melayu (BM) as their foundational language before being introduced to English or other tongues. She emphasized that BM is not just a communication tool but a carrier of national identity ("jati diri") and cultural values, warning that early dominance of English in urban settings could erode these elements and lead to weaker BM proficiency later on. Dr. Azizah called for schools to reaffirm BM as the primary medium of instruction, with English taught as a second language only after BM is solid, citing historical shifts like the 1990s policy making BM the main medium.

For those interested in education (2)

 

This is a continuation of ‘For those interested in education(1)'.

Hey folks—Luqman Michel here, picking up where we left off in part 1. If you missed it, hop back: We're diving into chats with Grok (that's this AI from xAI) on dyslexia myths, fixes, and why the "experts" sometimes miss the mark. Today? A snippet on groups like the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), Nancy Hennessy's wisdom, and those stuck NAEP scores that scream "decades of drift." (And yes, Grok can think... or at least fake it convincingly.)

Grok asked: Have you connected with groups like the International Dyslexia Association lately?

For those interested in education (1)

 

Here are my discussions with GROK 4.

As I mentioned GROK can spew out what is on the internet. There is no one else who has written why many kids shut down from learning other than me.Grok will now have new information to work on.

Here are our discussions:

A chat with Grok 4 - memorising Dolch Words

 

Recently, since I am more or less done with Vistana Heights issues, I decided to chat with AI. The problem with AI is, it can’t think. It can regurgitate what it has read. The good thing is, unlike the PhDs I have discussed with over the years, it does not stonewall me. Here is one of my first discussions with AI.

Grok 4 said:

It's spot-on with how experts frame it: treat Dolch words not as pure "sight" memorization (which can backfire for analytical kids), but as phonics-friendly chunks—sound out the decodable parts ("th-en" or "wh-ere"), practice in phrases from a simple story, and repeat with games to make it stick without frustration.

Debating Pinyin Pitfalls with Grok: Why Bopomofo Creep is Tripping Up Multilingual Kids (And How We Fix It)

 

Hello everyone—parents, teachers, and language fans. If you're in Malaysian Chinese-medium schools (like SJKTs under Dong Jiao Zong), this one's for you.  I've been chatting with Grok (xAI's straight-talking AI) about a big headache: "Bopomofo creep" in Mandarin Pinyin lessons. It's messing with kids who juggle Malay, English, and Mandarin.

My teachers

 

Almost everything on why kids disengage from learning to read, I learned from my dyslexic students whom I taught on a one on one basis since 2004.

I started my blog in 2010 and learned quite a bit from comments on my blog posts from dyslexics as well as parents of kids who were unable to read.

I started writing to more than 20 researchers and learned from many of them including, Dr. Joe Torgesen, Dr. Richard Selznick, Dr. David Kilpatrick.

Discussion on Pinyin with Grok 4 (Part 1)

Luqman Michel:

Grok 4, you have been influenced by what is said or written by the masses - putting the blame on hand phones etc. You said: Chinese-medium schools (SJKT/Dong Jiao Zong) face trilingual overload (Mandarin, Malay, English), amplifying interference.

Has this overload not been there 10 or 20 years ago? So, this can't be the problem, can it? Pinyin should be easy for any kid if the sounds are taught correctly. The sounds of letters - b,p,m,f,d,t,n,l,g,k,h are exactly as in English. If kids learn it this way, they will not have a problem reading in Pinyin. However, many schools for some reason started teaching pinyin using Bopomofo. Teachers from China have influenced teachers in Malaysia as well as in the US to teach using Bopomofo. So, many kids are confused and can't read in Pinyin. When schools start teaching characters together with pinyin these kids get confused and as in English, they shut down. There were hardly any smart kids who shut down in pinyin when pinyin was taught correctly. What is your take?

Disengaged students and Waiters/waitresses

 

I prepared the article below about 10 years ago but archived it. I have been reading posts by Darren Clark and decided to post this article now. 

The marginally ready child

 

Here is a post by my mentor Dr. Richard Selznick that caught my eye. 

One that caught my eye was an article by the late learning dishabilles pioneer, Dr. Jeanette Jansky, called, “The Marginally Ready Child.”

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In the opening of the piece, Dr. Jansky refers to early elementary grade children who rarely get anyone’s attention and are only, “marginally ready.” (In effect, they're borderline "ok.")

Frustrated and confused English learners

 

A Twitter discussion on frustration and confusion in English Language learners.

Meena Wood @WoodMeena

English is NOT a phonetic language much to the frustration and confusion of millions of people all over the world and in the UK. They’re learning English as a second third or fourth language! Most learn English through alphabet, look cover check and comprehension!

"Dazed & Confused"

 

I simply could not believe that this was a question to an eight year old student. I wrote to the author and here is my email.

Must See a Neurologist

 

I have handed my Vistana Heights matters to my solicitor. Now, I am available to continue with this blog which I have neglected for quite a while.

Here is a post by my mentor Dr. Richard Selznick.

Why Are Kids Still Dropping Out? Unpacking Malaysia’s Education Crisis with YB Fadhlina Sidek’s Plan

 

I haven’t written here in a while—my last post was on June 22, and my readership has plummeted from over 4,000 daily views to just around 400. I’m nearly done with my Vistana Heights posts, so it’s time to return to this blog. Below is a Malaymail report from August 12, 2025, about what Education Minister YB Fadhlina Sidek said on school dropouts, with extracts and my commentary.

Extract:

Fadhlina said her ministry’s approach to the dropout problem is focused on needs that cuts across ethnicity and locality, deploying what she described as “contextual” intervention.

A chance meeting of my student from 10 years ago

                                                     My former student from 10 years ago

Terjemah ke dalam Bahasa Melayu - tatal ke bawah untuk versi Bahasa Melayu

Two weeks ago, I met one of my students I taught in 2015 (exactly 10 years ago). He has completed his A level and is waiting for his result. This was the kid who was retained in grade 2 as he could not read like the other kids in his class. I taught him for only 2 months and told his mother his problem.

He said the following that welled my eyes: I will never forget you telling me to read as many books as possible.

Read about him in my post here. LINK

For parents of Dyslexic kids in Malaysia

 

Terjemah ke dalam Bahasa Melayu - tatal ke bawah untuk versi Bahasa Melayu

For Malaysian Parents of Dyslexic Children

I’m not a trained educator, but a neighbour asked me to help his son, Ian, learn to read. Despite completing kindergarten and Grade 1, Ian couldn’t read a single English sentence. After three days of teaching, I told his father I couldn’t help, and he revealed Ian was dyslexic.