English essential for business and trade

Star Thursday November 26, 2009

DEPUTY Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi’s comment that the private sector should use Bahasa Malaysia and not English is irrational, retrogressive and does not stand to reason.

The Deputy Minister’s views have not gone down well as indicated by the strong reaction and disagreement to his suggestion from various quarters.

At a time when our prime minister frequently emphasises the need for Malaysia to compete globally, to attract foreign investment and to turn Malaysia into a high-income nation, the call to the private sector to use Bahasa Malaysia and not English does not make business sense and defeats the PM’s call.

The private sector in Malaysia, I am certain, is patriotic and respects Bahasa Malaysia as our national and official language.

However, they realise that for them to do business and trade with the international community, using English is a necessity as they must be able to communicate in a language acceptable to all.

Every level-headed Malaysian who subscribes to reason and logic will unanimously agree that teaching, learning and using the English language must never be made into an issue when it is done in the interests of our future generation and for the sake of our nation’s progress and its future well-being.

We have to be pragmatic and progressive in this era of globalisation. It is essential for the Government to adopt a practical and open-minded approach towards English, which can contribute to Malaysia’s progress, while remaining firm and steadfast in ensuring that Bahasa Malaysia is the country’s official and national language.

We learn and use English as it is an international language for science and technology, business and commerce.

Malaysians should strive to be bilingual or even trilingual, now that most Malaysians, particularly the younger generation, have mastered Bahasa Malaysia.

Malaysians may lose out in the field of information and technology in the new millennium if they are not proficient in English.

The ability to learn and use English or any other language should be seen as a progressive move to improve our knowledge and expertise.

The fear of the English language, which some still regard as a legacy of British colonialism, is clearly misplaced and needs to be rectified.

To overcome this, more needs to be done to convince parents and students, particularly those in the rural areas, about the importance of learning English as a tool for science, technology, business and commerce as well as progress and modernisation.

TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE,
Kuala Lumpur.

FOR OUR CHILDREN