There has been widespread condemnation, literally across the board, on the opposition towards the growing demand for the greater use and development of the English language in our public universities and centres of higher learning.

But with respect, most of the issues raised are not new, resulting in a failure to grasp the ‘dangerous' negative social impact assessment on questions of ethnic/racial integration and national unity.

Basically, it can be argued, that a significant section of the elite power groups appear to be challenging calls to raise the status of English, claiming it to be a threat to the Malay ‘special position' within the same context as the theoretical framework of the ‘sieze' mentality they are expressing towards the possible withdrawal of other Malay social privileges that I have enunciated in earlier postings.

By stifling the institutional access towards the mastery of English, the Malays, as correctly pointed out by a former minister of information, run the risk of becoming "second class" citizens.

English is the language of international business and commercial market forces, and to lack fluency in it means to compete in an increasingly competitive global environment that must necessarily doom those involved to operate outside the ‘system', irreversibly.

Opposition to English a great disservice to Malays

It has also been emphasised by many that the proponents of the opposition to English are doing the Malays a great disservice.

They must be aware that mainly because of their handicap in the English language, almost the entire electronic industry locally is outside the active involvement and participation of the Malays as a community.

Indeed, it is also well known that in most of the government services, statutory bodies, government-linked companies and other specialised government institutions such as hospitals, with rare exceptions, most of the more complex operations that require fluency in English are undertaken by non-Malays,

Indeed, the one area where Malay youth could be employed en masse would have been in the call centres, such as in India. But for this, they will need to be fluent in the English language, which they unfortunately are not.

In conclusion, it needs to be strongly emphasised that university students and others involved cannot be blamed for the position they have taken because this is due to the disadvantaged position in which they find themselves.

The root of the problem of denying Malays greater exposure to the English language is a colonial legacy, which unfortunately the elected government, after independence and since, has failed to address and overcome.

Its time to redress this situation before ethnic/racial integration and national unity are further eroded.