Rafidah: Stop politicising the use of English

PETALING JAYA: Former Minister of International Trade and Industry Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (pix) has called on all quarters to stop politicising education and language at the expense of the younger generation.
Rafidah said continuing to do so would jeopardise the future of the country's youths and lead to Malaysia losing out in terms of global competitiveness.
“Please let us be rational and realistic about the national language. There is no doubt that Bahasa Malaysia is our national language.
“We need our young to be able to think and act global. We need them to have a good comprehension of, and effective communication skills in other languages over and above Bahasa Malaysia," she said in a Facebook post today.
Rafidah lamented that though it was widely acknowledged that English is the universal language, there was no serious effort to at least go bilingual.
“It does not make anyone less Malaysian if that person is able to communicate well in English or any other foreign language because the priority now is to nurture Malaysians with global exposure and who can compete globally,” she said.
Citing her education as example, Rafidah said that she was taught entirely in English except for Bahasa Melayu being taught as a subject, and it did not make her any less a Malay.
"In fact I was able to do my bit for my country, because I could interact with anyone out there by being able to speak and effectively communicate everything in English.
"And of course our founding fathers negotiated the intricacies of our independence using English!! Certainly no one else could be more nationalistic than our founding fathers who made us Merdeka?" she added.
On Nov 18, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem announced that the state had adopted English as the official language of administration apart from Bahasa Malaysia.
His decision however was criticised by the government's social and cultural affairs adviser Tan Sri Rais Yatim who said such a move would affect unity between the peninsula and East Malaysia.