THE concern by Parent Action Group for Education over the poor command of English across the board and its call for a reset to put the country’s human resources on par with world standards (“Language barrier” by Suraya Ali, theSun, May 17) resonates with many right-thinking Malaysians.
The key issue, with the lack of exposure and use of English, can be addressed by reverting to English as a medium of instruction in at least the key STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects.
Years ago, our English proficiency was on par with any English-speaking Commonwealth country, but now the detrimental slide needs to be urgently addressed.
Simply put, for economic advancement, we must be able to compete strongly on an international level, and as such we need a superior human capital and workforce.
The standard of our human capital entering Malaysia’s workforce needs to improve. Singapore is ranked higher due to their strong command of English. It is not about reducing the importance of our national language, but recognising that to produce the best, we need to have a quality education and a realistic upgrade in our teaching of English, which is used internationally.
It is pertinent to note that a large number of our local graduates are unemployed for various reasons, including their lack of fluency to communicate in English.
A good command of English is to recognise the pre-eminence of English as a worldwide language in science, research, commerce, global affairs and diplomacy.
Hence, our country’s well-documented English language deficiency needs an urgent public policy reset if we are serious about our ambitions to develop and maintain a strong, competent and competitive workforce in an increasingly competitive global market.
Sze Loong Steve Ngeow
Kajang
