NEED FOR REFORM: The Education Policy on teaching of English Language is flawed

I HAVE TO be upfront about this. 

        I believe we have a government that will at least now listen to the voices of the people who love this country, and seeking for its welfare. 

        This is contrary to those who think they are more patriotic because they think they are defending the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.

        Let me begin by saying that no one is disputing Bahasa Malaysia is the national language. I speak reasonably good Bahasa Malaysia myself, being the batch in the second year when Malay was used as a medium of instruction.

        Lack of Political Will

        However, after nearly 50 years since the introduction of the national curriculum in Bahasa Malaysia, we are seeing a sharp decline in the standard of the English language, much to the chagrin of many of us who still believe English has an important place in the country. 

        Our politicians know about this sad state of our country's standard of English. With the exception of Anwar Ibrahim abd at least one other prime minister, most prime ministers are incapable of addressing the United Nations using proper English. 

        Even Najib Abdul Razak speaks good English, yet he had no political will to solve the longstanding problem faced by all Malaysians. The only person who tried to right the wrong he himself had created was Dr Mahathir Mohamad who introduced the teaching of Maths and Science in English through the Dual Language Programme.

        Malaysians should be ashamed that after 70 years of nationhood, we have people who are still unable to put together a simple Welcome greeting in English. 

        What's worse is when they do not even care to consult Artificial Intelligence to refine the English used. 

        What a big contrast to China, when 30 years ago, its citizens were still struggling with English; but today, they do not only speak fluent English but some of them have also learnt and able to impress us with their command of Bahasa Malaysia. 

        I wonder, whether done intentionally or unintentionally, where these officials behind this welcome message have to hide their faces -- under the pillow or in the sand? 

       This isn't a new issue; we’ve seen instances like Dr. Mahathir's bodyguard attempting to speak in English, resulting in an embarrassing misunderstanding that sounded like Dr. Mahathir had passed away. Everyone remembers the bodyguard saying, "Give way, give way, the Prime Minister of Malaysia is passing away!" How embarassing!

        There have also been several other billboards with similar blunders welcoming important foreign leaders. These mistakes reflect poorly on the country and suggest that some Malaysians do not learn from past errors. The lack of accountability exacerbates the problem.

        How Embarrassing 

        At the same time, I received another image claiming that a local university had this signboard posted at its office. Whoever wrote this should not be allowed to teach anymore, unless the university is trying to showcase the poor standard of our English language to its international students. 

        If this is not bad enough, a third image which I received today finally prompted me to write this piece. It is either because some Malaysians think that they can have a fun time coming out with all sorts of creative ways to spell English words like 'Pandan' (which became 'pondan'). How shameful for the company as well as all its staff that both the staff and his or her manager could make such a mistake. 

        

        The country badly needs to reform its education system. Teaching of Bahasa Malaysia must be emphasised but it should not be at the expense of the other languages, especially with international languages such as English and now, Mandarin. The more languages our children are able to communicate, the brighter is their future. 

Also read this:

https://come-to-senses.blogspot.com/2024/07/who-are-people-you-claim-to-represent.html