The Malaysian Insider (12.06.2015) - Johor Sultan says Malaysia should adopt Singapore policy on English in schools
It's the 10th anniversary of the then Sultan of Johor's far-ranging interview about Malaysia's education system in 2015. The gist of the interview was as follows:

1. "One thing that we can learn from Singapore is their way of forging national unity via their education system. The use of English as a medium of instruction has been effective in the development of the country and uniting their people regardless of race or religion."

2. "English schools are neutral grounds. We used to have such schools in Malaysia until it was changed. Was there any problem then?"

3. He also criticised Malaysian politicians who are in "self denial” or opted to "play politics with education" saying that they want to be "heroes" of their own respective races. "They talk about nationalism but at the end, do they send their children to boarding schools in Australia and the United Kingdom to learn in Malay medium?"

4. "I also know of so-called Chinese educationists who champion Chinese education, even insisting non-Mandarin speaking teachers should not be allowed to teach in Chinese primary schools. “These are the extremists. I know one such leader had tertiary education in Western countries. We have many such hypocrites,"

5. The Sultan said not only did Malaysian children have poor English proficiency, they did not mix with one another across ethnic groups. This, he said, did not bode well for national unity. "The Malays go to national schools where the Chinese feel alienated, while the Indians go to Tamil schools. Where is the unity? “Then some people also want Chinese and Indian universities. All this is driving the races apart. Yet we say we are all 1Malaysia. "Unfortunately, I see all this as 5Malaysian".

6. He said the more well-to-do parents sent their children to private and international schools where English is the medium of instruction but expressed worries that this would evolve into a class issue. "This is all due to the myopic planning and thinking of our politicians.”

7. He said having an education system based on a single stream for students would ensure a more harmonious society able to face future challenges together. Having schools with English as the medium of instruction did not mean the national language would be abandoned, the Johor ruler said, as Bahasa Malaysia can still be made compulsory, as well as Chinese and Tamil languages.

8. "Don’t forget, when English was used as a medium of instruction in schools in the 1950s and 1960s, a pass in BM was compulsory. Even a pass in Mathematics was compulsory to pass the Form 3 exam but now you don’t even have to pass your Maths test!"

IT MAKES SENSE, DOESN'T IT?

This post has been edited by xenotzu: Jul 15 2025, 10:50 AM

28 Dec 2015 - Johor Sultan: English in danger of becoming older people's language
The then Sultan of Johor was passionate about the decline in English proficiency in Malaysia:

1. “Yes, English is in danger of becoming the language of the older people while the young cannot speak English proficiently,”

2. “In countries such as France, Spain and China, young people are speaking English. It is the reverse in Malaysia. I am alarmed,”

3. The Johor ruler noted that there are students in Chinese and Tamil schools who cannot speak Malay and Malay students who cannot speak English.

4. “In those days, English schools were regarded as ‘neutral ground’. All races attended these schools. During my time, it was a must to know both Malay and English."

5. “But now, when you teach Mathematics, Geography and History in Malay in schools, students are at a loss when they have to read books in English in universities. How can you be a scientist when your English is so bad?”

6. Sultan Ibrahim pointed out that he conversed with his wife and children in both English and Malay at home, noting that the previous generation “spoke English beautifully”.

It was true 10 years ago, and unfortunately, it is still true today!