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<div class="gmail-title gmail-titlemobile" style="font-size:26px">We missed the bus, says Editor</div>
<div style="font-size:12px;color:rgb(153,153,153)">Published on: Friday, November 02, 2018</div>
<div style="padding:0px 0px 10px 10px" align="center"><img src="http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/upload/james02118.jpg" class="gmail-img-responsive gmail-center-block" style="margin: 0px auto;" border="1"></div> <b>Kota Kinabalu:</b>
There is little doubt that Malaysia has missed the globalisation bus
largely due to mistakes in policies and measures introduced by certain
over-zealous Federal leaders beginning from the post-Tunku era that
affected even the younger generation in Sabah, a Forum on "Wither
Globalisation: What's Next?" was told. <p>
Daily Express Chief Editor James Sarda said although the nation has
globalised to a certain extent, by right we should be doing better. </p><p>
He said this was admitted even by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir in
Bangkok last week who said Malaysia, which was once an Asian Tiger, is
now a half-dead tiger. </p><p>
However, he said, all hope is not lost. "There is still a chance to
catch up if the new Pakatan Government has the interests of the future
generations in mind by reviewing as well as introducing policies that
must not be subjected to flip-flops later. </p><p>
James said some of the policies introduced after first Prime Minister
Tunku Abdul Rahman vacated his post were anti-globalisation in nature
and singled out the deliberate downgrading of English as one that had a
most profound effect. </p><p>
James said perhaps these policies were introduced with good intentions
but were contrary to the spirit of acceptance and openness that
globalisation demanded. </p><p>
"With globalisation beginning to gain momentum in the way people gained
knowledge, communicated, did trade and interacted with one another on a
global scale, the timing was also wrong for introducing inward-looking
policies. </p><p>
He said it is to the credit of both Dr Mahathir and Datuk Seri Najib
that corrections were made, first with the PPSMI and the Dual language
Policy to allow at least Science and Maths to be taught in English. </p><p>
"But instead of seeing the remedial measures through and making
adjustments, what followed were costly flip flops due to indecision," he
said. </p><p>
</p><br>
"The PPSMI introduced by Dr Mahathir before he stepped down the first
time, was a six-year programme costing the Government RM3 billion in tax
payers' money but it was scrapped with just a year left to go. <p>
"Realising the error, Najib reintroduced it, this time calling it DLP
and leaving it to parents to decide whether their children should study
these subjects in English. But even then there were quarters that tried
to deny the fundamental rights of these parents, saying they should not
be allowed to do so. </p><p>
"Thankfully, Najib didn't budge and there is evidence that schools under DLP are now the most sought after by parents. </p><p>
"So both these men who led Malaysia, even though at each other's
throats now, have agreed on the importance of English as a language of
empowerment. </p><p>
"Both are on record as saying that we do not lose our identity just because we speak the white man's language." </p><p>
On the other hand, he said those who favoured an "only Bahasa policy" were undecided on what to even call the language. </p><p>
"From Bahasa Kebangsaan it was changed to Bahasa Melayu, then Bahasa Baku and now Bahasa Malaysia. It was so confusing." </p><p>
James, a Chevening scholar who has a Masters in Journalism from Cardiff
University, believes that thousands of Malaysian graduates would not be
jobless today if they were fluent in English. </p><p>
</p><br>
"English is the language that half the world's population speak,
including 60 nations in the Commonwealth alone. It is the language which
even people in lands that were not part of the British Empire
understand. It is the language of empowerment because it is the language
of contracts and negotiations. <p>
"Whether we like it or not it is the language of globalisation and yet
these leaders sealed the fate of generations of Malaysians by reducing
the importance of English while quietly sending their children to
schools abroad. </p><p>
"From requiring a compulsory Pass in Form Five along with Bahasa Malaysia, it finally didn't even need a Pass at SPM level. </p><p>
"Many students could not enter university or dropped out early because
subjects are mostly taught in English, especially the sciences." </p><p>
James said a better option would have been to uphold Bahasa Malaysia as
the National Language without downgrading English. It should not have
been one at the expense of the other, said James at the event organised
by Universiti Malaysia Sabah's Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and
Language Learning. </p><p>
James said there can be no excuse for Malaysians who cherish
independence not to be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia. "English is a borrowed
language. We need Bahasa as our national language, as our sense of
identity and belonging. </p><p>
"In today's context it will have to be fluency not just in Bahasa
Malaysia and English but also Mandarin because increasingly the world is
witnessing globalisation with a Chinese face with that nation having
made tremendous strides within just 40 years of opening up.' </p><p>
He said China was able to achieve this because the State played a
direct role in facilitating it to the extent that they have gone from
having hardly any English-speaking Chinese 40 years ago to now having
professors who lecture in many of the world's best universities. </p><p>
</p><br>
"I was informed that half the lecturers in Nanyang University and one
third in the National University of Singapore are Chinese. There are
also Chinese lecturers in many other leading universities. <p>
"The transformation was so great because the State played a big part,
the same way that the State played a part in Malaysia in the Seventies
but to detrimental effect." </p><p>
James also pointed out that Tunku Abdul Rahman in several of his
speeches warned that while Malaysians must uphold Bahasa Malaysia as the
national language, it must not be at the expense of downgrading
English. </p><p>
"Sadly his advice was ignored at great cost," he said, adding that the
Tunku even remarked at an old boy's dinner at the Penang Free School
that he is forever grateful for having had an English education as this
was what prepared him for his role in securing independence for the
country and becoming Prime Minister. - Larry Ralon </p>
<br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>