Malaysian's opinions in the letter With good English, the world is your oyster make compelling reading.

I do not know why it is so difficult for the Malay, Chinese and Tamil language "nationalists" to acknowledge that proficiency in English, spoken and written, is one of the key means for Malaysia to reach developed country status by 2020. Perhaps it is cowardice on their part; perhaps they are choosing to hide behind the fig leaf of nationalism to put forward their arguments.

I have been working in the fields of telecommunications and information technology for more than 20 years and have travelled extensively for both work and pleasure. Fluency in English has made my travels and professional life both enjoyable and rewarding.

Fluency in Bahasa Malaysia does not count one bit when you are negotiating a joint venture agreement in the US or pitching for a consultancy contract in India.

Insularity in language makes for insecure, insular people. One only has to watch young Malaysian diplomats at overseas Malaysian embassies and high commissions to see how awkward and uncomfortable they are in multiracial, multicultural environments and gatherings. And these are the people tasked with the responsibility to 'sell' Malaysia overseas as a preferred destination for foreign investments!

Much as I hate to admit it, Singapore got it right in this area. Which is one of the reasons the republic is pulling in so much FDI, cumulatively much more than Malaysia. If this doesn't make our ministers and planners sit up, then nothing else will.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad took many years to think this whole issue through. He surely cannot be happy to see how Singapore regularly tops the rankings in tables of international competitiveness. The language "nationalists" are not making his job any easier.