up @chazey 
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KUCHING: Sarawak has the right to use English as one of its official languages without any restriction by the federal government as there is no condition that states otherwise.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem disclosed that when the Federation of Malaysia was formed in1963, one of the conditions for Sarawak and Sabah was that English would be used as an official language besides Bahasa Malaysia.
However, Sabah gave up that right in 1971 when it signed an ordinance to use only Bahasa Malaysia in official correspondence. “We never signed such an agreement after the formation of Malaysia. English can be used as our official language alongside Bahasa Malaysia in Sarawak. There is also nothing wrong in using more than one official language,” he pointed out in his speech at the closing of Forum Belia Tegas 2015, held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) yesterday.
The chief minister explained that his decision to use English as one of the official languages in the state was to improve the level of English proficiency among Sarawakians in meeting the demands in the job market.
“Sarawakians should realise that to be employed by international companies which offer employees good salaries, they must have a high command of English.”
Adenan said the nation made a mistake by overlooking the importance of English and was paying the price for it now. “Because of that, we suffer as many of our younger generation have failed to find proper employment. Our unemployment rate has gone up as many youngsters nowadays do not have proficiency in the English language,” he said.
Adenan stressed that promoting the usage of English as an alternative official language would not jeopardise the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the country’s official language.
The forum, organised by Sarawak Bumiputeras Technical Education Promotion Charitable Trust (Tegas), hosted more than 1,000 youths from across the state.
The highlight of the event was the question-answer session between the audience and Adenan, who commented that he enjoyed the interaction with the youths, even encouraging them to give him more questions.
The forum was also attended by Assistant Minister in Chief Minister’s Department (Promotional and Technical Education) and Tegas chairman Datu Len Taliff Salleh, Assistant Minister of Community Services Datuk Peter Nansian, chief political secretary to chief minister Abdullah Saidol and Balai Ringin assemblyman Snowdan Lawan, who is also Tegas treasurer.
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Post time 20-11-2015 06:17 AM
Post time 20-11-2015 07:18 AM
