Private sector welcomes English test for top civil servants
MIRI: The Pakatan Harapan federal government’s decision to carry out English language competency tests for top civil servants has received a positive response from the private sector.
Malaysia Association of Hotels Sarawak Chapter honorary secretary- general John Teo said the competency test is vital if Malaysia seeks to compete internationally.
“The Malaysian government should make it compulsory with stringent standards if it wants its people to brush up on their English language. Although, in my opinion, BM ( Bahasa Malaysia) is our national language, it should be made a point that BM should not be the first language with a compulsory pass subject but instead the English subject.
“To be honest, many Malaysians lose out internationally due to their low English proficiency when entering the real working environment, whilst professionals, who have excellent English proficiency tend to lose out when it comes to getting a job in the civil service. Such is the real situation that happens then and now, which we do hope to see a necessary change be made by the new government,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Teo suggested the Ministry of Education make it compulsory for all subjects, from kindergarten to university level, to be taught in English.
The Malaysian government should make it compulsory with stringent standards if it wants its people to brush up on their English language. John Teo, Malaysia Association of Hotels Sarawak Chapter honorary secretary-general
Businessman Erick Chin said improving English language competency would be an uphill battle but not impossible.
“The past two to three decades, there were no efforts to improve the English competency amongst Malaysians, which was easily noticed through the education system.
“If the new government wants to improve the English competency among senior officials, a persistent effort that follows after the competency test must be done and surely we could see positive improvement in the next three to five years,” he said.
Chin suggested that adapting the Singapore government method, where English is a compulsory pass subject, could raise the standard of English among Malaysians.
“If previously the government made it compulsory to pass BM and History subjects, I strongly believe that’s a similar way to push and inspire more to master the English subject effectively,” he said.
He added a stricter education system could also help parents understand the importance of the English language.