Anwar Wants Malaysian Students & Schools To Improve Their English In 2024
He expressed this desire at a ceremony celebrating a year of the Madani government.
By Dale John Wong — 24 Nov 2023, 11:49 AM
During an event celebrating one year of the Madani government, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed his desire for Malaysian students to attain better mastery of the English language
In a speech delivered at the event in Putrajaya, Anwar said that while it is important to safeguard Bahasa Melayu as the country's main language, efforts are already underway to raise the standard of English learning among students.
"Speaking of the quality of education, Malay is the main language and must be mastered without compromise by all students, but we must try to think of new methods to improve the quality and mastery of the English language," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
"So, from next year, the quality of English language proficiency should be improved in addition to maintaining the position of the Malay language," he added.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim delivering his address during a ceremony in Putrajaya celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Madani government.
Image via Bernama/New Straits TimesAnwar hopes that moving forward, this plan to improve English proficiency in Malaysia will not be disputed
He again emphasised that while Bahasa Melayu is the country's main language that must be mastered by all Malaysian students, including those in private or international schools, the level of English education should be raised so that all children — especially those in national schools — will have better command of the language than they do currently.
In a corresponding statement, Anwar also added that it is important for young Malaysians to be given better training and upskilling in order to meet the demands of international companies with a presence in the country
One example given was Infineon Technologies AG from Germany, which outlaid an RM25 billion investment to create the world's largest 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) power fabrication plant in Kulim, Kedah.
"It means we that we have to train our children who are graduates of [Technical, Vocational Education, and Training] (TVET) and engineers and others in the fields of mathematics, science, technology, and digital, so that they can meet the needs of the company. Otherwise, the company will take expertise from foreign countries," he explained.
