KOTA BELUD – A former Sabah chief minister wants Sabah and Sarawak to be consulted first on the policy to mandate the use of Malay as the official correspondence language of government.
Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said this is to ensure smooth implementation of new policies, pointing to the importance of English as a global language.
"While it is not denied that Malay is the national language of Malaysia, and we welcome this new policy, the importance of English proficiency cannot be disputed.
"This is because English, as a global language, is widely used and is essential, especially for public servants who deal with foreign affairs, and students who will explore fields of knowledge in education and later apply it in the job market," he said.
Salleh, who is also the state assemblyman for Usukan, made these remarks while speaking at the Excellent Student Awards ceremony of SMK Pekan II Kota Belud here today.
Also present were Kota Belud's deputy district education officer Laugan Iman, and the principal of SMK Pekan Kota Belud, Junainah Binti Baharudin.
Salleh’s statement came in view of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s directive to all government machinery to ignore or return without any action all letters received written other than the Malay language.
Inaugurating a carnival to celebrate the national language and the 'National Language Decade' at Cyberjaya yesterday, he said that he has realised the existence of an attitude felt to have been “misguided” or “distorted” by some parties.
In 2015, Salleh affirmed Bahasa Malaysia is Sabah’s official language, pointing out that the state government had in 1971 submitted an enactment recognising it as Sabah’s official language.
Salleh was then the federal communications and multimedia minister at that time.
On the other hand, Sarawak has assured the use of English in official correspondence would continue to be accepted. – The Vibes, October 26, 2023
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