Switching to Bahasa at uni level will make everyone incl Malays MORE BACKWARDS

Any proposal by the federal government to change the language medium at tertiary level is not only regressive and isolationist but will also seriously impede national progress.

For Malaysians, learning Bahasa Malaysia (BM) as a national language is a national responsibility. But the government should strike a balance between mastering BM and to have the competitive edge.

Hence, any proposal that BM be made mandatory at tertiary level requires deep review because in addition to affecting our students’ ability to master technology and information, such plans will impact Malaysia’s national and international competitiveness of becoming a fully developed country. This proposal will also affect our efforts to make Malaysia a regional education hub.

I appeal to our government to seriously consider all aspects before switching all language mediums at tertiary level to BM to prevent Malaysia from falling short of achieving our target of becoming a high income nation.

International language

English is an international language used by many around the world to gain knowledge and information, and to stay current in the field of technology.

The standard of English amongst our graduates has often been criticised by the private sector, and if we decide to make BM the medium of instruction in our tertiary education, it will only lower the current standard of English and waste the government's previous efforts in attempting to enhance our English capability, which in turn will reduce our graduate's competitiveness at the international level.

In Malaysia’s effort to build our country as a regional center for education excellence, our geographical location, popularity of English and favourable currency exchange rates have attracted many foreign students to study here.

If BM is made mandatory for tertiary courses, I believe such a move will fail to attract foreign students to study here and all government efforts will be burnt. Many of our tertiary institutions will have to be closed down. In addition, if students are only proficient in BM, they may lose the ability to master technology and other opportunities.

For Malaysia to achieve high-income status by 2020 and for the Government Transformation Programme to eventually yield results, it is imperative to master English.

Raising the standards of BM can be done in primary and secondary school. Even Chinese primary schools constantly try to improve the standard of BM among its pupils. Meanwhile, the emphasis of colleges and universities is to acquire knowledge.

Loh Seng Kok
Member of MCA Central Committee
Member of MCA Presidential Council
Deputy Chairman of MCA Publicity Bureau