English won't change our beliefs, traditions
YuvanPublished: Jun 1, 2009 6:40 PM | Updated: Jun 1, 2009 6:41 PM
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Dr M decries being held to ransom by language extremists.
We have cabinet ministers and politicians who cannot speak good English. We have executives holding senior positions in some GLCs and they are so pathetic when they have to do presentations in English.
We have lawyers, doctors, engineers, IT professionals and executives in the airline and shipping industries, bank managers and bank officers, customer service personnel and professionals in various other sectors who cannot speak a sentence of good English, leave alone write good English.
We have professors, lecturers and teachers and also people who call themselves ‘educationalists' and most of them cannot speak good English!
And isn't it ironic that we have political leaders, who are at the mercy of language extremists, telling us to be ‘world class' in whatever we say or do?
I am not saying that the only way we can be ‘world class' is to be proficient in English. But to be proficient in English is one of the surest ways for Malaysians to reach far and wide with courage and confidence.
English is the language of trade, commerce and science the world over. Effective communication in the English language is crucial if we are to compete on par with the rest of the world.
What is the point of talking about having world-class colleges and universities if we have teachers and lecturers who cannot express themselves in fluent English?
Why should we waste our time dreaming about having world-class facilities - airports, hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, hi-tech industries etc, - if we do not want to groom ‘world class' professionals to manage these facilities?
We want to have ‘angkasawan' exploring space and beyond and yet we feel contented to remain like ‘frogs in the well'.
We need to be proficient in English if we are to face the global challenges ahead and survive. Learning English and becoming fluent in the English language will not in anyway lessen our love and affection for our national language and mother/native tongue.
In fact being multi-lingual is a special skill that is widely-recognised as an additional ‘qualification' by multi-national companies and most corporate bodies around the world.
It is not going to change the way we think, eat or dress. In other words, it will not change our beliefs and traditions. To be fluent in English is definitely an asset that no one can deny except, of course, those who are perturbed and feel ‘inferior' for a variety of unnecessary reasons.
Yes, I shall agree with Mahathir's views and comments on this matter. What does it matter if our political leaders lack the spine to deal with this issue ‘head on'?
What does it matter if our so called ‘academicians' and ‘educationalists' do not have any care for the ‘survival' of our children and future generations?
We have cabinet ministers and politicians who cannot speak good English. We have executives holding senior positions in some GLCs and they are so pathetic when they have to do presentations in English.
We have lawyers, doctors, engineers, IT professionals and executives in the airline and shipping industries, bank managers and bank officers, customer service personnel and professionals in various other sectors who cannot speak a sentence of good English, leave alone write good English.
We have professors, lecturers and teachers and also people who call themselves ‘educationalists' and most of them cannot speak good English!
And isn't it ironic that we have political leaders, who are at the mercy of language extremists, telling us to be ‘world class' in whatever we say or do?
I am not saying that the only way we can be ‘world class' is to be proficient in English. But to be proficient in English is one of the surest ways for Malaysians to reach far and wide with courage and confidence.
English is the language of trade, commerce and science the world over. Effective communication in the English language is crucial if we are to compete on par with the rest of the world.
What is the point of talking about having world-class colleges and universities if we have teachers and lecturers who cannot express themselves in fluent English?
Why should we waste our time dreaming about having world-class facilities - airports, hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, hi-tech industries etc, - if we do not want to groom ‘world class' professionals to manage these facilities?
We want to have ‘angkasawan' exploring space and beyond and yet we feel contented to remain like ‘frogs in the well'.
We need to be proficient in English if we are to face the global challenges ahead and survive. Learning English and becoming fluent in the English language will not in anyway lessen our love and affection for our national language and mother/native tongue.
In fact being multi-lingual is a special skill that is widely-recognised as an additional ‘qualification' by multi-national companies and most corporate bodies around the world.
It is not going to change the way we think, eat or dress. In other words, it will not change our beliefs and traditions. To be fluent in English is definitely an asset that no one can deny except, of course, those who are perturbed and feel ‘inferior' for a variety of unnecessary reasons.
Yes, I shall agree with Mahathir's views and comments on this matter. What does it matter if our political leaders lack the spine to deal with this issue ‘head on'?
What does it matter if our so called ‘academicians' and ‘educationalists' do not have any care for the ‘survival' of our children and future generations?
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