JOHOR BARU: The Permaisuri of Johor, Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah, has called for concerted efforts to create opportunities for young people to study the English language and take their place on the world stage.
She said serious and urgent intervention was needed because of the “dramatic and drastic” decline in the proficiency of both written and spoken English among the Malaysia's younger generation in general.
“We should not rely on the government entirely to reverse this trend. We need English teachers, NGOs, and corporate entities to band together and take proactive action.
”It can be done. English can still become the language of knowledge and communication among Malaysians,” Raja Zarith Sofiah told the Royal Press Office at Istana Bukit Serene here.
Speaking in her capacity as Royal Patron of the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA), she urged all parties concerned to motivate and inspire students to speak and write in English.
“My dream is to see young Malaysians pursue education at world-class universities like Harvard or Oxford and go on to become CEOs of global companies. To achieve such goals, they need to learn the English language,” she stressed.
“In schools now, students don’t speak the language for fear of being mocked for trying to be a “Mat Salleh”. The perception is that if you don’t speak Bahasa Melayu, you are not proud of being Malaysian. So they retreat and avoid speaking English.”
The Permaisuri of Johor hoped national education policymakers would consider placing more emphasis on English language classes in schools.
For young Malaysians to become relevant and be on par with other developed societies, priority must be given to the teaching of English in schools.
At the current rate, Raja Zarith Sofiah lamented, there was no way bright and talented Malaysians could ever dream of becoming high-achievers in the Silicon Valley in California or anywhere else in the world because they can’t express themselves well in English.
“When I write articles in Facebook, most comments are in Malay. They have strong opinions but do not know how to express themselves in English.
“That is why renewed efforts are needed to inspire and motivate our young to learn English seriously,” she said.
Raja Zarith Sofiah pointed out that many Malaysians, having mastered English, have made the nation proud by holding distinguished academic or corporate positions abroad.
A case in point is Dr Afifi al-Akiti, a lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford.
"We have lost more than a generation of people who simply have no confidence to write or speak in English. But it is not too late. There is still hope. Let us work with the policy makers to help reverse this trend,” she said.
In today’s increasingly interconnected world, she noted, knowledge of the English language is needed to keep up with technological developments, to move forward and to be noticed by others.