KUCHING: People must not be adverse to learning other languages but instead endeavour to be multilingual.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the locals should take the example of a group of Japanese students who are learning Bahasa Melayu.
“We are proud to see that now the Japanese want to learn Bahasa Melayu. Hence, we as Malaysians should not belittle our own language.
“We must continue to learn Bahasa Melayu as it is our national language, and know how to converse in this language,” he said during the ‘Kembara Anak Samurai Ke Sarawak’ programme at Kampung Santubong last night.
Wan Junaidi, who is also Santubong MP said at the same time it is not wrong for people to learn as many languages as they can.
“For instance, in Sarawak, we are adopting a bilingual approach where both Bahasa Melayu and English are used.
“This is because English has become the world’s lingua franca and while Sarawak uses English, it does not mean the state forgot about Bahasa Melayu.
“I don’t see learning English as a problem as long as we don’t forget Bahasa Melayu,” he stressed.
He added that even technology such as gadget settings are in the English language, and therefore it is important to learn the English language in order to know how to operate such devices.
“In addition, learning English will not only ease communication with others but also when travelling to other countries and there is no need to use another person as a translator,” he said.
Wan Junaidi also said aside from learning English, the Arab language should also be learnt.
“Learn the Arabic language because it can add value to us and be of advantage to us,” he said.
Earlier, the programme involves 13 Japanese students from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) including two senior students aged 75 and 77.
The group, led by their visiting lecturer Faridah Mohamed, is in Kuching for five days from Sept 1 to 5 to experience the local culture in Sarawak.
The students’ visit is part of the 17-day programme to Malaysia and Sarawak was chosen as their first destination.
