My weekly news: Government servants should be proficient in English

I am focusing on this one news alone because it is potentially a 'Lailatul Qadr' night or known as 'The night of Power' and Muslims would like to spend more time doing extra prayers or reciting the Qur'an because these last 10 nights are extra special. So I am choosing one very important news from this week. 

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, our Prime Minister in his speech yesterday announced the need for government servants to be proficient in English. That is all well and good but what gets to me is the response of some people who are against it, complaining about it and claiming we are abandoning the Malaysian language in favour of English.

First of all, let me state a fact. FACT: Malaysians have been learning in their formal education both the Malaysian (Malay) language and the English language from the age of 7 up to 17 years old. So, if any person who went through the Malaysian education system and not able to have a decent conversation in either of the two languages i.e. Malaysian or English than that person is at fault. why? because a language requires practice, to read, to speak, to write. The initiation and determination to practice speaking has to come from one's own self, not from teachers or lecturers or the government. If a person is shy or inferior or think they can't speak in English for whatever fetish reasons, that is their problem. Don't blame it on the government, school or whatever. Get rid of that attitude and speak! 

Let me ask something to those people who make such a big fuss. Did the Prime Minister ask you to do something bad? Did he ask you to steal? Did he ask you to take a bribe? Did he ask you to support him even though he took the people's money? No! Tun Mahathir asked you to do something good for yourself. He asked you to be proficient in another language. Did he ask you to stop communicating in the Malaysian language? No! So, if you think that someone asking you to do something good for yourself is a bad thing, then you are the one with a serious problem because you refuse to help yourself.  

On the contrary, another thing that bothers me is people make a big fuss when a Malaysian does speak good English. I thought that is expected. As I said, we learn English in school from the age of 7 years old. It would be a serious problem either with our education system or with ourselves if we still cannot converse in English. Our parents who were born in the 1920s and 1930s perhaps had better English skills then us because some of them went to English schools under the British. So, what is wrong with the people in this country? Having the ability to speak in English should not be a shocking thing. Please stop saying 'For a Malay, he has good English' or 'For a Chinese, he can speak good Malay' That is not a compliment rather it is an insult!  

I absolutely hate it when people say to me that my English is good because I studied in the UK. I have been speaking in Malay and English my entire life. I did not learn to speak English in England. I went there having been able to speak in English. Perhaps my accent changed a bit and I stopped saying 'Lah' at the end of every sentence but that was about it.  

I will tell you a story. Living in the UK for 17 years and not having anyone to speak Malay to, I did lose my ability converse fluently in the Malaysian language. I could still speak Malaysian but not the formal type of Malay. For instance, I couldn't give a speech in Malay (like Anwar Ibrahim for example). Okay, I still can't give a speech like Anwar Ibrahim but I think I can give my medical lecture to my students in Malay (if I have to) because our lectures are all in English. Anyway, one day after returning to Malaysia in 2010, I went to a course and the lecturer whom we call J.J (a Malay guy) he totally inspired me. He was able to give his lecture in impeccable Malaysian language and English language. I was so impressed by him and I was adamant that one day I was going to be like him, able to speak fluently, to give my lectures in both Malaysian and English language. After 8 years of being back in Malaysia and I was called for my Associate Professor interview, when they asked me questions in English, I answered in English and when they asked me questions in Malay, I replied in Malaysian language. One of the interviewer made a comment of how he was impressed with me and my ability to do so. I then realized what I have achieved and I was proud of myself. I was happy that I have almost achieved my aim to be like J.J. 

It annoys me when people say 'Wow! Lim Guan Eng can speak Malay'. Of course he can speak Malay, he went to a National School (Sekolah Kebangsaan) or when people say 'Wow! Dr Maszlee can speak in English' Of course he can! My nieces and nephews who go to Chinese school can speak in Chinese. So what? When we learn a language at school, we are supposed to be able to use it. What is the point of learning a language for bloody 11 years and then not able to use the language? Think about it. Besides, whatever language you know will give you further access to more knowledge because you can read more books, watch more educational videos and learn more things. What is so bad about that? 

We make it a big deal because of attitude. If some people have an attitude that they do not want to speak or do not want to be good at something. Whose fault is that? Think about it! Our national language is Malaysian, learn it well. The lingua franca of the world at the moment is English, learn it well and whatever other language you learn, Arabic, Mandarin, Tamil etc. just learn it well.