The fuss over the deterioration of English standards over the years is at times quite hard to comprehend.
During my primary school days, I had friends of all races in my class. We used to converse in English without any difficulties whatsoever.
My close friends – Nor Azman, Rosli Razak, Salim, Chew Peck Sad and Kong Kim Keong – and I used to read Enid Blyton storybooks and had a good time talking about the adventures that brought those pages to life.
During our secondary school years, we had friends from Malay- and Chinese-medium schools join us after they had spent a year in remove class. They could all speak English, so communicating with us was not an issue. Subjects were taught in English, and it was not a problem.
When I furthered my studies at Tunku Abdul Rahman College – now known as Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology – there were only three non-Chinese students, including me.
Most of the students spoke Mandarin among themselves but could also speak proper English.
Much later, after I had graduated and joined the teaching profession, I met my colleague Mr Muniesparan. He had studied at a Tamil school but was also proficient in English.
Clearly, learning and speaking in English is not the issue. Rather, it is our mindset that determines our proficiency.
A lackadaisical and negative attitude towards English is the root cause of the declining standard of the language in Malaysia. The ability of our people to master English is not the problem.
THIAGAN MATHIAPARANAM
Klang
