1Malaysia through language

Although there is an outcry of dissatisfactions regarding the Malaysian government’s recent final decision on the education policies, it has to be admitted that the government has recognized the importance of English in the world today. This, it had proved by its decision to implement various steps to speed up the good grasp of the English language by its people The allocation of an huge sum of RM5 billion just for the development of the language alone is a clear sign of its commitments.

Going to the disgruntlements to the decision of reverting to Bahasa Malaysia in the teaching of science and mathematics, this is a just a marginal issue. The argument that students can only make an easy grasp and quick steps of progress only with the subjects being taught in English is not very convincing. The advocators for ‘science and maths in English’ point out that even advanced nations like S.Korea, China, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, etc. now are eagerly going for the education of the English Language for their people due to their recognition of the language’s role in the commercial and technological world. Accepted that the substantiation of this is unbreakable and compelling, it has to be agreed that these nations attained their technological and scientific advancement, using their own languages, much before their willingness to accept to English as an international language, a language of international trade and commerce. They had done it. Why not we? We are no lesser beings than they are.

Therefore, let us give the government our support to its eagerness and pledges to push for advancements and 1Malaysia, through the patriotic and resilience use of our own national language.

Coming back to the issue of the government being committed to the improvement of English language, it has been announced that English Literature is going to be introduced in Primary schools. It is hoped that the studying of English Literature is not stopped there but continued throughout, to at least to PMR level, if not to SPM, as had been practiced 3 decades before. Scholars of those years and subsequently the present well-versed senior citizens, will agree that it was the slow and meticulous study of English Literature that made them to be knowledgeable in the language today.