Second, the Malaysian syllabus focused much more on fundamental topics such as the four basic
operations involving whole numbers, currency, time, and measurement than the Shanghai syllabus. In
Malaysia
the concept of whole numbers and operations of whole numbers were extended till grade 7;
while in Shanghai, the topic on whole numbers ended in grade 6. In the Malaysian syllabus
the
introduction to currency, value of money, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of currency, and
the combination of two operations – adding and subtracting of currency were taught in grades 1 to 6. In
Shanghai, the topic of currency was only seen in grades 1 to 2. As for the topic of time, students in
Malaysia were expected to know both the 12-hour system and the 24-hour system and to be able to do