SIBU: Sarawak is being encouraged to uphold the practice of using English as the primary working language, while also integrating Bahasa Malaysia into everyday conversations.
Sibu Municipal Council chairman, Clarence Ting Ing Horh, stressed the necessity for students to master English in order to communicate effectively on an international level.
“Master your English because our country, our state of Sarawak, is very small. If we were a large country like India or China, we might survive independently. But we cannot.
“We need to establish connections with other people, and the only way to communicate internationally is through English. This is why I place such strong emphasis on English proficiency in Sarawak. As Sarawakians, we face challenges. We need to know our national language, Bahasa Malaysia, but it is equally important to learn English,” Ting said while officiating at the ‘Books Build Legacy’ programme, in conjunction with the Business Event Sarawak’s (BESarawak) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sibu Jaya here today.
As a member of the BESarawak Board of Directors, Ting highlighted the stark differences between the real world and the school environment, where Bahasa Malaysia is predominantly used.
“Whether we like it or not, the English language will be adopted by the Sarawak government. We are all Sarawakian and should take pride in that,” he said.
Ting’s comments were in response to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent directive to all government departments to disregard any letters written in languages other than the national language. Any correspondence not in the national language would be returned to the sender immediately.
