Let me tell you about the debate that is currently ravishing Malaysia. In recent times, our Prime Minister decreed that Mathematics and Science should be taught in English in our schools. This has sparked some massive opposition, from parents, educators and politicians alike. Now, I cannot understand why this is so, for every educated person in Malaysia will tell you that:

a: the standard of English in Malaysia is on the decline and
b: we need English as we exist in an INTERNATIONAL business environment.

Malaysia is not a self sustaining economy... we have to deal with other countries and Malaysia is not an economic power house like Japan or China in that we cannot force the international community to learn our language. In fact, China recognises the benefits of having a nation that speaks some English, thus it has recently implemented a plan whereby some 300 million native Chinese will be taught to speak and write English. Who in their right mind would pick Bahasa Melayu (commonly known as Bahasa Malaysia or Malay) as a third language when a mere 23 million or so people in the WORLD speak it? To put things into perspective, the population of Tokyo is more than the entire population of Malaysia. Sure, sure, sure, there are similarities between Bahasa Melayu and Indonesia but learning this language is NOT a necessity in the international business arena and Malaysia simply does NOT have the economic power to compel foreign investors to learn Malay.

Some 30 odd years ago, the Malaysian government decided to change the curriculum in our local schools from that based in English to that of Bahasa Melayu. This change, which many felt benefited the "identity" of the Malaysian people marked the beginning of what I would call a "language crisis" for the entire country. The changing of a country's "main" language is not something to be taken lightly. I mean, how can a government impose a "main" language on its population without fully realising the future implications? I think that this change is one of the MAJOR reasons why Malaysia isn't a developed country, and is still considered to be a developing (or third world, depending on how courteous you want to be) one. It has taken the Malaysian government some 30 years to realise that the move was indeed a mistake and it has taken the government some 30 years to realise that the level of English in Malaysia is ASTRONOMICALLY HIDEOUS!! This is by no means an exaggeration by any long shot. A report in the International Herald Tribune stated that "barely 50% of the Malaysian population is literate in English". Personally, I think that the figure should be a lot lower. Why? Well I am HERE, I work and interact with Malaysians, I deal with them on a daily basis and whilst yes, there are those who have excellent English, a majority of those that I come into contact with would not know the difference between "your" and "you're". This is a fact.

Language Crisis

[To My Archive]