IT’S a MUST
KUALA LUMPUR: People should stop being emotional and accept the fact that English proficiency i s necessary to take the country further ahead in the international arena, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said yesterday.
“Like it or not, English is a prerequisite in today’s world, and without English, Malaysians can only be ‘jaguh kampung’ (home ground champion) and lack the ability to penetrate the international market,” he said.
Najib said the importance of Bahasa Malaysia as a language to build the country’s national identity should not be ignored, but for the country to move ahead and compete with the best in the world, the people must have a good command of the English language.
Speaking at a special gathering
with 1Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M) participants at KL Convention Centre here yesterday, the prime minister said it is vital for the English language to be mastered, especially by the younger generation to enable them to be more competitive globally.
“We cannot be emotional and have a mindset that there is no need for us to learn English.
“The country needs individuals with a high level of self-confidence and the ability to communicate, especially in English,” he said.
Najib said among the reasons why many graduates have failed to be absorbed into the workforce immediately upon completion of their studies is their lack of soft skills, including the mastery of communication in English.
“I was told that there are graduates with cumulative grade point averages (CGPA) of between 3.50 and 4.00 who failed to pass the interview session. Why? Because they lacked the necessary self-confidence and cannot convince their potential employer that they possess leadership skills,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the SL1M programme to improve graduates’ employment rate, Najib announced the setting up of a taskforce comprising officials of the Prime Minister’s Department and the Higher Education Ministry to establish cooperation between universities and the market.
“We hope the universities can provide more training so that dependency on SL1M can be reduced,” said Najib, adding that SL1M can be “slimmer” if most of its tasks can be taken over by universities.