I applaud Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's farsightedness in advocating wider use of the English language. Malay Malaysians should indeed heed his call to improve their English proficiency.

However, to allow only teaching English in Maths and Science in primary schools is not enough or sufficient. The re-emphasis on English must be more comprehensive and radical because time and tide wait for no man.

We cannot wait until primary school children grow up in order to catch up with Singapore. That will take another 20 years. Meanwhile, many school-leavers and working adults who are between 25 and 55 are left unproductive and unemployable in the job markets.

To encourage school-leavers and working adults to learn English, the people must spend more time reading English newspapers.

Young Malays, in particular, must start to make it their daily habit to read English dailies like malaysiakini and periodicals like The Economist, Time, Newsweek and Far Eastern Economic Review.

On the Internet, there are also the cyber editions of The Guardian, BBC World News, CNN, International Herald Tribute and Washington Post, etc. As an English proverb says, practice makes perfect.

RTM must also be radically reformed. It should cut down Malay-language programmes and air more English ones. Besides, Umno leaders must show good example by speaking more English in rural and semi-rural areas so as to set role models for the people to follow positively.

Most important is for the government and Umno to slash the expenditure, investment and funding for unnecessary Malay-language programmes in RTM, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.