I was amongst the few non-bumiputeras of my time that lauded the decision made in the mid- 1970s to change the medium of teaching from English to Bahasa Malaysia with English as a second language. This was so, even though, I came from the totally English medium of teaching. I thought that by so doing, the nation’s young will have a better understanding and greater usage of the national language, thus bringing about greater unity while still learning English.

However, making English into a non-compulsory examination subject was a major and costly mistake. The results are obviously disastrous and as I am approaching my twilight years, permit me to ask the reason for our gederal politicians for being so adamant about switching the teaching of Mathematics and Science back to Bahasa Malaysia from English.

I wish to also ask: ‘Can our prime minister, deputy prime minister, ministers and deputy ministers stand up in Parliament and confirm that none of your children are studying (or have studied) in a nation where English is the medium of instruction in the schools, colleges or universities?’

As a Malaysian who has worked all my career with best in class multi-national companies, I have always shared the pain at interviews where Malaysian university graduates struggled to answer their interviewers’ questions in English. One who graduated from the University of Ohio, for instance, pronounced Ohio as ‘Oh-Hio’ which led the interviewing panel into confusion as to the existence of such a university.

Once in my travels, I resided at a hotel near to the Ariozona State University and was at a restaurant patronised by many undergraduates. Overhearing the obvious Kelantanese, Terengganu and Kedah dialects, I entered into conversation with these students and was surprised, moments later, that many did not bother to make friends with the Americans and the other nationalities.

If this was not shocking enough, the Kedah students for instance, did not socialise with the Kelantan or Terengganu students and vice-versa.

Is it not that we send our young overseas to broaden their knowledge and perspective about the world around us rather than to maintain a skewed view from under the ‘tempurong’? Or do we hold reservations that these young Malaysians will convert to the Western’s ways, religions and culture? If so, then why are our political leaders sending their own offsprings off to the West?

Let me declare that I was born a Buddhist, was schooled in a Catholic missionary school, read the Al-Azhar University recognised and official English interpretation of the Quran, worked in countries which included the Middle East, Russia and China and am still a Buddhist today but with a good understanding and appreciation of the different religions, cultures and languages in Malaysia and in nations where I worked.

I can declare that I also have friends in all the countries where I have worked. I never stopped learning or researching about the cultures and religious practices of the countries where I have to worked in or to learn new languages. I am yet to be converted to an overseas culture or to another religion.

I am comfortable attending festive, social or religious events at churches, mosques, synagogues or temples as I have knowledge and understanding of the various religions, cultures and practices.

With the power of English as my language of education plus the languages of the world and cyberspace, I have a world of knowledge and communication at my finger tip or tongue tip. Being conversant in Bahasa Malaysia has brought me to become a brother with my fellow Malaysian and my ability to converse in a few other languages and dialects has brought me to be a ‘1Malaysian’.

Let us stop with any action such as advertising as 100% bumiputra owned or racists projections within our 1Malaysia. Let us be ‘1Malaysia’ and ‘1World’.