PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on the Ministry of Education (MOE) to expedite initiatives to enhance English language proficiency among students.
Speaking at the monthly gathering of the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Anwar emphasised that the government's education reforms should not be delayed.
"If a decision is made in 2023, planned in 2024, and decided upon in 2025, with the implementation of a pilot program in 2026, followed by full implementation in 2028, this is far too slow," Sinar Harian reported him saying on Wednesday.
Anwar pointed out that such lengthy planning processes could leave the nation's education system behind.
"I don't deny that there are complexities and challenges due to the diversity of our education system and teacher training, but if we continue with the old methods, we will fall behind," he said.
The Prime Minister stressed the need to expedite efforts to improve English language proficiency among students, especially at the secondary level.
"While we continue to strengthen our proficiency in Bahasa Melayu, we must also ensure that our mastery of English as a second language is strong, especially for our students at the secondary level," Anwar said.
Anwar also announced that a team would be formed to work on implementing these initiatives quickly. "We need to choose how to implement this quickly. If we don't act fast, we will lose.”
Last year, Anwar had emphasised the government's commitment to upholding Bahasa Melayu as the national language while also promoting English proficiency.
Furthermore, the government is considering bringing in English language volunteer teachers from Singapore to enhance English language proficiency in rural areas. This idea was proposed following a meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during his visit to Malaysia last year. – February 12, 2025
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