PM Anwar: Govt depts should not entertain letters not written in the Malay language
CYBERJAYA, Oct 25 2023. — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reminded all government departments not to entertain any letters written in a language other than the national language. Anwar said the Federal Constitution requires them to communicate with government departments in the national language. “So, I would like to give a reminder (to all government departments), that if they receive a letter from local companies or public and private universities in a language other than the national language, just return it to the sender. The empowerment of culture, language, and literature is an integral part of nation-building, so let us not underestimate it". Article 152 of the Federal Constitution states that the Malay language or Bahasa Melayu is the national language.
PUTRAJAYA, 23 Nov 2023. ---- Starting next year, the national education system has to improve students’ mastery of the English language while upholding the position of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“Don’t argue anymore, as if giving English importance will leave Bahasa Malaysia behind,” he said. Anwar added that if Malaysia’s economic progress and capability was to increase, Bahasa Malaysia must become the main language of knowledge, and be mastered by all Malaysians at all schools, including private and international schools. “A child of Malaysia must master Bahasa Malaysia. At the same time, all our children, especially at national schools, must be given focus so that their mastery of English is much better than it is now, so that they can at least be bilingual.”
steadyaku comment:
You can't have your cake and eat it too. The proverb literally means "you cannot simultaneously retain possession of a cake and eat it, too". Once the cake is eaten, it is gone.
Malayans...or later Malaysians....were already proficient and have mastered the English language because most of us then, were educated in that language. What happened? The powers that be brought in Bahasa to REPLACE the English language lock stock and barrel - and they did so without Bahasa being ready to take the place of the English Language. Now after decades of Bahasa being taught in schools, you want Malaysians to master the English language again? Huh! Tell that to the Marines.
Let us be candid here. It is the Malays that now have to master the English language after being educated in Bahasa. Do not worry about the Chinese and the Indians....their master of the English language are far far better than the Malays because they understand the importance of the English language dulu, kini dan selama lamanya. And while we are at it, let it be said that the Chinese and Indians are also no slouch when it comes to mastery of Bahasa. So really...as is always the case.... it is the Malays who have to play 'catch up'!!!
And....do not just say that you want Malaysian education to focus on English Mastery from next year. Tell us how you are going to achieve it. That is what matters because you saying that you want Malaysian education to focus on English mastery will NOT make it happen.
Enough said.
When you ask an Indonesian about the race Melayu they will answer in Indonesia they are considered a pariah race like the lowest india caste system....so I understand 🫠🫠🫠
Anwar doing what he couldnt complete when under dr m. That is his reformasi. Not ours. Whatever he is implementing was not even mentioned during election rallies. All came out of the blues. Its religious court elevation and now curtailing use of english in schools.
You can teach science, tech and maths in malay if you keep the technical terms unchanged as that used in english like what we used to do. Tayar, paip, pam, stering, bumper....everybody understand. But today, stealth becomes " halimunan", upload, download becomes muat naik, muat turun... this will cause a lot of confusion if new BM words are created just to keep up with english. Just use the english term and make it simple as…
Easier said than done. You need a good vision for the future
You need a long term plan and strategy for this
You need intelligent people who share your vision and has the
abilities to make your vision into reality
You need to be able to allocate money and human resources
for your vision
Alas , what we have is , no vision , substandard ministers
And no forward or global thinking
Over emphasis on agama class and less on STEM subjects
And top of this , flip flop mentality
The trophy of wooden spoon awaits Malaysia in education
There is NO DOUBT about it Malaysians and maybe later Malayans, MUST MASTER THEIR COMMAND OF ENGLISH. Simple, be honest with yourself, who are all the Foreign Fund Managers and FDIs INVESTMENTS IN MALAYSIA. Either they are Western, European or Chinese, so to be more MARKETABLE, MY HUMBLE SUGGESTION IS TO MASTER 3 LANGUAGES, ie. BAHASA MALAYSIA, ENGLISH & CHINESE, and this is what the SRJKC and the Private Chinese Schools are teaching their students and due to this they are HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER in Western, European Countries & China. This is one of the REASONS of the Brain Drain. The UEC Exams Standards are proven to be Higher than our STPM. NO POINT ENFORCING ENGLSIH INTO SKs & ALL…
Extract from SyedoutsidetheBox….will this be the fate of Msia ......
Languages : The official and most widely spoken language in Myanmar is Burmese, but the minority ethnic groups use their own languages. English became the official language during the colonial period.
The Myanmar man in the interview speaks good English. English is easy to understand, it has many advantages, anyone can speak English without having to feel any embarrasment. If the Kachin cannot understand the Rakhine and vice versa, English could bridge the gap.
The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew said in his biography that in the 1960s he expected two Asian countries to become the earliest among developed and advanced countries in Asia. He mentioned Ceylon and Burma. Both…