It is disgusting that children have to be the victims of Barisan Nasional politics. Enough is enough. Now with the weak Chinese-based Barisan Nasional component parties, we have to arrive at a compromise which only contributes to the unnecessary pressure of children in the Chinese schools.

The Umno supreme council has even threatened to withdraw aid to the Chinese schools. To me, this is truly a loss of face and if MCA, Gerakan and other Chinese-based parties in the BN do not make a stand against this kind of threats, then we, the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, can count them out in the next general elections. They are a weak, ineffective and self-serving lot.

Once again, Umno leadership is short-sighted in their education policies. You cannot fix three decades of errors and damages overnight! Being successful is not merely about passing exams in Maths and Science or being able to define the theory of relativity in English.

If one does not have a good command of any of the major languages, that is a handicap. Being successful is being able to articulate and analyse your thoughts and that is only possible when one has a good command of the language. It is more than spitting out facts from a text book.

It makes more sense if the government saw it fit to increase the standard of English in Malaysia. We all know that politicking is the main reason for today's low standard of English among students. With mastery of the language, they have a world of information to improve whatever subject they wish to excel in. Learning Maths and Science in English may help them in the paper chase but not much else.

Save us all the pain and trouble; keep politics away from our children's education. It has already cost a generation to be handicapped in English. Politicians should leave education to true educationists. Set up a panel of professional educationists and have them act as consultants to the policy makers. Our children's future is not child's play. As for the Chinese community, we know who really looks after our interests and it is not the politicians in power.