I afraid later they will call you as "Penderhaka".....ai yo banyak susahlah.....
On the other end , our evergreen Mahathir mentioned that "Forsaking English is the Nation's folly" ....Ah ha......another Penderhaka?
Najib: Learn Mandarin, China important
China’s President Hu Jintao (right) and Najib talk outside the prime minister’s office in Putrajaya. — Reuters pic
Najib said learning another language would also enable a person to know better other individuals from different backgrounds, thus enabling them to respect each other more.
“Only when we respect and honour one another, we will become truly Malaysian,” he said at the Chong Hwa Independent High School’s 90th anniversary grand dinner here.
He said by learning Mandarin, the other races — especially the Malays — would be able to understand the Chinese better.
“It may be too late for me to learn Mandarin, but I hope to see more Malays learn the language in the future.
“My youngest son, Norashman Razak, who is currently studying at Georgetown University in the United States, is also taking Mandarin classes,” he said, adding that he was told his son would only be able to speak Mandarin fluently in four years’ time.
“Maybe one day, I may invite him to give a speech in Mandarin.”
On Chinese independent schools in the country, Najib said the provisions in the Education Act 1996, formulated when he was education minister, guarantee the existence and growth of Chinese schools in the country.
Therefore, the community needed not worry, he added.
He said the government’s liberal policy towards education since independence was the main factor for the growth of Chinese independent schools, with Malaysia being the country in the region with the most number of Chinese schools and many of its people having a Chinese education.
“The existence and growth of schools using the students’ mother tongue as the medium of instruction is also the country’s strength and diversity.
“This shows that the Barian Nasional-led government is always liberal in weighing its policies; that outside China, Malaysia had the biggest number of Chinese-educated citizens.”
He said although the issue of whether Malaysia should have single or multi-stream education system was always debated, he believed the multi-stream was good in creating a society in diversity, where diversity was a strength and asset for the country.
Commending the success of Chong Hwa Independent School, Najib said the fact that Chinese parents were sending their children to the school showed that the community was committed and put high priority on education.
He said to date, there were 60 Chinese independent schools in the country.
Also present at the dinner were MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, treasurer-general Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng, vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, party Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, who is also Gerakan president. — Bernama
Dr M: Forsaking English is the nation’s folly
Dr M: I am not an Englishman but I speak English. — File pic
“English is the language of the Knowledge Age. Countries which do not master English will not only be left behind but risk being colonised either directly or indirectly.”
Without knowledge, countries will be oppressed and even invaded, he said.
The former premier, who has not hidden his disapproval over the shift of policy which he introduced, added that it was a folly to equate patriotism to speaking the national language.
“English is not only for English people but a universal language. I am not an Englishman but I speak English.”
“Are you an Englishman?” he asked a reporter during a press conference after he delivered the keynote address at the 17th Islamic World Academy of Science conference which is being held here.
He pointed out in the past, Western scholars were unafraid to learn Arabic in order to acquire knowledge, which was only available in that language and likewise the Arabs had to learn Greek for the same purpose.
But today, Dr Mahathir said the government was “ignoring success.”
“New discoveries are coming out in torrents in English,” he said adding that it would take an army, fully fluent in both English and Malay, to translate all the latest development.
The 2003 policy of teaching mathematics and science in English or PPSMI was reversed by the Cabinet on July 8 due to objections from various pressure groups who argued that rural students could not cope and were being left behind.
The policy was introduced to increase English proficiency and to expose students to technical science and mathematics terms from a younger age so they could excel in these fields at tertiary levels.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who also holds the education portfolio, has maintained the government will not return to the policy of teaching and learning science and mathematics in English despite appeals from mainly urban parents.
The government is moving ahead on the new policy of dignifying Bahasa Malaysia usage while raising English proficiency.
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