Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad must have been dumbfounded about the different and conflicting front-page news reports about his hour-long meeting with two Chinese groups on the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English at his office in Putrajaya yesterday.

The premier may have intended to convey a message that the government was still gathering feedback from various quarters on how to implement the language switch but the dailies failed to portray this.

'PM: Schools in Malaysia and China are not the same, Chinese must accept reality' read the headline in the Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia.

The daily said Mahathir 'stressed': "Surely the Chinese schools here are different from those in China. The Chinese here are Malaysians, they are not in China or Taiwan.

"Therefore they should accept what is considered 'national' in Malaysia and not try to replicate the schools in China."

According to the report, the premier said national schools those fully aided by the government and use Bahasa Melayu as the teaching medium have not been a great success due to the lack of support from Chinese, Indians and even Malays.

"Only two percent of the students in national schools are Chinese, four percent are Indians and the rest are Malays. National schools are not getting much support from Malays these days because they prefer to send their children to religious schools," he was quoted as saying.

Review English syllabus

Another popular Malay daily Berita Harian featured a headline that was more blunt : 'Chinese groups reject language switch'.

It reported that the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) and the Federation of Seven Clans and Associations wanted the government to retain mother-tongue for the two subjects in Chinese primary schools.

The two groups were also said to have urged the government to review the present syllabus of the English subject.

However, Berita Harian's sister daily New Straits Times painted what had transpired at the meeting in a less confrontational manner.

Its report titled 'Chinese groups: Make subject compulsory at all school levels Support for English move', quoted Mahathir as saying that the two groups had "expressed their full support for the government's plans to improve the standard of English".

"...but they have differences in opinion on the level at which the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English should start," he was quoted further.

New Straits Times and Berita Harian are published by New Straits Times Press Bhd a publishing group long regarded as controlled by Umno-connected companies and individuals. It is also seen as a barometer of the government's stand on national issues.

The country's leading English daily The Star also took a cautious approach. Its headline for the story on the meeting read: 'Qualified support from groups'.

Chinese dailies' coverage

On the other hand, Chinese dailies reported about the meeting in a totally different manner and also gave extensive coverage to ACCCIM president Lim Guan Teik's comments.

The MCA-run Nanyang Siang Pau published the story on its front-page under the headline: 'PM: courseware difficult to prepare on time Teaching of Maths and Science in English may be postponed'.

The daily said Mahathir was "worried that the language switch could not be implemented on time next year as the government was uncertain if the necessary courseware could be completed by the end of this year".

He was quoted as saying that since emphasis will be given to computer-aided teaching, Maths and Science teachers will merely play the role of facilitators and thus their fluency in English is not a must.

The prime minister had also reportedly assured the Chinese community that the government do not have any hidden agenda to close down Chinese schools.

Nanyang's sister daily China Press reported the issue in a similar manner. Both the newspapers are published by Nanyang Press Holdings Bhd which MCA acquired, amid criticism, last May.

Meanwhile, leading Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Daily gave the headline: 'PM: Gov't will listen to all views No final decision yet on language switch'.

Mahathir reportedly said that the government has yet to decide whether Chinese primary schools will be included in the language switch and added more views will have to be taken into consideration.

Sin Chew Daily is owned by Sarawak timber tycoon Tiong Hew King, a close associate of the premier.

All newspapers except for The Star and China Press featured Mahathir's meeting with the two Chinese groups on their front-pages.