Nations which downgraded English now rectifying it
Published on: Saturday, May 13, 2017
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I REFER Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, who made the call to re-establish English-medium govt schools in Sabah.
In this country, it is already firmly established that Bahasa Malaysia is the official and national language.
The BM proficiency of Malaysians is evident in the way they conduct their daily affairs in local business, with government agencies and departments, and in social interaction among the multi-racial communities.
But the same cannot be said of the status of English. From as early as the 1970s, there has been a steady decline in the adoption and use of English in this country.
It is often said that time will tell. But haven’t we waited long enough to see the day when Malaysians are confident and at ease speaking and writing acceptable, flawless English again?
The big question looming above our head is why, despite so much effort by so many bodies and agencies over so many years to improve our standard in the language, is English still not being spoken and used confidently and freely by a good majority of Malaysians?
Our policymakers in education and industry have proposed many projects – from school to university level – to help improve our children’s proficiency in English. The national budget has, without fail, come up with fresh financial allocations to devise new strategies for teaching English and to revitalise the training of suitably-qualified teachers.
Many well-planned projects are also being promoted to enhance the learning of English for children at school, students in colleges and universities, and even among parents, especially senior citizens. Holding simple writing competitions for children in primary and secondary schools, debates for university students and supplying books and other reading materials to the elderly are some of the Government’s on-going initiatives.
So why are many Malaysians still giving English less prominence, knowing well that it is the lingua franca of the world?
Generally, a large sector of Malaysians are still reluctant to willingly and spontaneously use English in their daily communication. Could this be due to fear, albeit unfounded, of political instability in our country if English, with its international image, were to be accepted by the masses, making it a threat to BM?
This possibility is very remote as our present set of leaders in government are generally mature, broad-minded and good at conducting their business in English worldwide. Most would be at ease with English while upholding Bahasa Malaysia as their national language.
Would there be a threat to vernacular schools? Definitely not! In fact, if one were to observe what is actually going on in Chinese and Tamil schools, one would be surprised at the enthusiasm the students and their teachers show during English classes. Of late, there has been remarkable achievement in English language competitions by both Mandarin- and Tamil- speaking children. They just love to speak and write in English.
Could there be disapproval for English usage among the Malays? Definitely not! In fact, credit must be given to the present batches of Malay students in national schools who are worthy of praise for the flair they have cultivated for English. They are doing extremely well at inter-school and state debates. Some have even participated in debates overseas. However, such students tend to have parents who are proficient in English.
At this point, it must be appreciated that Abdul Rahman himself has expressed his vision for our children with his proposal to the Federal Government “so that we can give an advantage to them to compete in the job market and boost domestic ability.” He also clearly declared that “the move is seen as a proactive measure to produce more human capital, having mastered the universal language from an early age.”
Poland, Germany, France, China, Japan and many more countries which, for decades, were hesitant to include English as one of their foreign languages have now done a 180-degree turn. They have now admitted that English opens doors for international co-operation and peaceful coexistence in this world.
When we look at our own backyard, we cannot help but notice the mushrooming of international schools here.
These schools have taken root in our education system with their high standards in teaching and learning.
But they are expensive and the students enrolled are mainly from financially sound families.
The time is ripe for Malaysia to go back to the drawing board to re-establish English-medium government schools.
The call has been made time and again but now we are confident that the Prime Minister will take heed of this in line with the cry for transformation towards a global Malaysia.
GKS
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