Dr Annuar: S’wak will continue to focus on English language
KUCHING: Sarawak will continue to focus on English language even though the move is labeled by others as nonpatriotic.
Assistant Minister of Education and Technological Research, Dr Annuar Rapaee, said the level of English needs to be maintained at high standards in Sarawak because this lingua franca is needed to advance the society, especially in the economic aspects.
He said only with good command of English would our children be able to compete in the global arena without compromising the usage of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.
“We master English to give us the competitive edge, but at the same time maintain the command of Bahasa Malaysia which highlights our Malaysian characteristics.
“I do not agree with people calling us Sarawakians not patriotic just because we prioritise English. We have never been like that,” he said when officiating at the Majlis Anugerah Tinta Kenyalang 2017 and Malam Lestari Bahasa 2017, organised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka ( Sarawak Branch) here on Thursday.
Dr Annuar, who is also Assistant Minister of Housing and Public Health, said the state government was very sensitive to the language issue in order to maintain the harmony of the state’s multiracial composition.
He said apart from focusing on English and Bahasa Malaysia, other ethnic languages were also spoken by Sarawakians regardless of their race and religion.
He called on Sarawakians to also master the Bahasa Malaysia as it is the national language.
“It is sad to note after more than 54 years of independence, there are still so many people not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.
“We do not reject or deny the presence of other languages but BM is our national language and is a factor to unite the people,” he said.
State DBP director Dr Hazami Jahari and Datuk Bandar of Kuching North City Commission ( DBKU) Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Abang Julai were also present at the function.