Improve BM mastery to achieve unity, says Education Ministry rep

Education Ministry representative Shamsudin Mohamad has said that Malaysians’ grasp of Bahasa Malaysia should be improved, as mastery of the language is a critical ingredient for achieving unity.

Shamsudin, who is the ministry's Educational Planning and Research Division unit head, said many Malaysians were unable to speak Bahasa Malaysia proficiently despite schools emphasising usage of the national language.

He said using the national language in the education sector was necessary to anchor the nation’s strength and identity.

“As Malaysians, we shouldn’t feel awkward when it comes to speaking Bahasa Malaysia," he said.

Shamsudin was speaking as one of the panellists in a forum today titled 'Strengthening unity in the education sector'.

The event was held at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (Istac), Kuala Lumpur.

"When I was in Shanghai for three weeks, the people there spoke Mandarin. Even media conferences were conducted in Mandarin," he said.

Shamsudin also addressed some quarters' perception that many people chose to send their children to Chinese vernacular schools rather than national schools.

"We have about 10,000 schools, and vernacular schools are much less than that. […]

"We want to encourage parents to send their children to national schools. We continue to improve the infrastructure and ensure teachers receive enough training."

When asked by a participant whether the government would one day eliminate vernacular schools and focus on single-stream schools, Shamsudin replied the issue had to be studied.

"What are the parents’ hopes for the education system? Can they all accept the single-stream concept? To what extent are we willing to make sacrifices and talk about this? It all depends on them," he said.

With regard to schools’ efforts in promoting unity, Shamsudin stressed that parents played a vital role.

"Let's not forget that education does not only happen in schools, but also outside schools.

"It all start from the parents. We could plan, create programmes, and teach the kids about good values.

"The question is, can the community out there continue to promote what the children learn in school?" he said.

Other panellists included Shukri Kamarudin from the Kuala Lumpur education department and Malaysian Youth Council president Jufitri Joha. The event was moderated by Malaysian Unity Foundation chairperson Suresh Kumar.

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