PUTRAJAYA, July 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that mastery of Bahasa Melayu as a language of knowledge must be strengthened across the country's education system, while ensuring students have opportunities to learn other languages with economic and global value.
He said the approach was essential to uphold Bahasa Melayu as the national language and a unifying force, without diminishing the importance of proficiency in English and other languages such as Mandarin, Tamil and Arabic.
"Over the past three years, one of the main tasks I assigned to the education minister has been to ensure that mastery of Bahasa Melayu as a language of knowledge is achieved by all children without exception," he said during a gathering with Ministry of Education personnel today.
Anwar said proficiency in Bahasa Melayu must be achieved across all streams of education, including national, religious, international and vernacular schools.
Multilingualism strengthens the nation
He said strengthening Bahasa Melayu should not be viewed as rejecting the importance of other languages, as multilingual proficiency is an asset to the country.
"Bahasa Melayu and the importance of mastering English... In a country like this, what is there to lose by giving our children sufficient opportunities to master Chinese, Tamil, Arabic, or even choose to learn French and other languages?
"We know the importance of English. If Malaysia wants to become a great nation, proficiency in English must be improved," he said.
Anwar said changes in the global economic landscape had also increased the importance of mastering foreign languages, particularly Mandarin, following China's rapid economic growth.
"Fifty years ago, when we talked about Chinese language education, including when I was education minister, people viewed it as something needed only by Chinese children in Malaysia.
"Today, when we talk about the Chinese language, it has become an important economic language in the region," he said.
Bahasa Melayu remains non-negotiable
Anwar said the government was adopting a more open and inclusive approach to language policy, but stressed that one principle would remain unchanged.
"What we will not compromise on is that mastery of the language must be Bahasa Melayu. It must be strong and not merely fragmented or superficial," he said.
