MIRI: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) secretary-general Datuk Sebastian Ting said recent remarks by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang on the usage of English showed he had absolutely no respect for Sarawak’s right to use English as an additional official language apart from Bahasa Malaysia.
Sarawakians do not share his views and in fact most Sarawakians are revolted, shocked and upset by his comments that those using English are still trapped in a colonial mindset, he said.
“Our right to use English as an official language was promised to us as it was one of our fundamental requirements when our founding fathers negotiated to form Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
“The usage of English in Sarawak is guaranteed by Article 161(3) of the Federal Constitution and Paragraph 28(a) of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report that says “the English language shall be an official language and may be used in the Legislative Assembly and for all other official purposes in the State, whether Federal or State purposes, including correspondence with Federal Ministries and Departments.”
In Sarawak, he said, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government, led by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, knows what it is doing to move forward in tandem with the world’s progress and advancement of the digital economy.
“We attach great importance to the English language and encourage all Sarawakians to master English as we definitely want to be one of the leaders in digital economy and renewable energy.
“Thousands of research papers, findings and new technology are being discovered and researched everyday and majority of them are published in English.”
“We are truly blessed that many Sarawakians are multi-lingual, with the ability to speak not just the official languages, Bahasa Malaysia and English, but also their own mother tongue like Bahasa Iban, Mandarin, Bahasa Bidayuh and many more,” he added.
He said SUPP supports the comments made by Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Datuk Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah that Abdul Hadi is shallow minded and ignorant about the importance of mastering English for advancement in science and technology.
“If the PAS President insists that he does not want to speak English or communicate in English and some Malayan politicians are in the same boat, let them be. Sarawak shall not follow them. For Sarawak, we always think of our children, their future and our people as a whole as we want the best for them,” he said.
