THE State Cabinet will discuss the suggestion for English to be accorded equal prominence as Bahasa Malaysia, as well as adopt the use of English as one of the two official languages in Sabah, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
“We will bring the matter to the Cabinet. Let the decision be made collectively,” he said on Jan 3 when asked to comment on the suggestion for Sabah to emulate Sarawak in insisting that the English Language be accorded equal prominence as Bahasa.
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee had in a statement earlier said the use of English in Sabah and Sarawak had always been accorded official status ever since the formation of Malaysia under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“This approval to re-adopt English as one of the two official languages to be used in Sabah should be among the demands on MA63 that Sabah is pursuing with the Federal Government,” he added.
He said as a current reference, the use of English in the courts in Sarawak and Sabah has remained official although this may not be the case in the peninsula where the preference was to use Bahasa Malaysia. “In the context of the 21st-century globalised era, English has become the international lingua franca of the world.
“In international trade and banking, in aviation and maritime industries, in internet and legal documentation, English is now the language to use. “To have English as one of our official languages will make Sabah more competitive in Malaysia as well as internationally,” said the former Chief Minister.
Yong said even Indonesia is catching up with the Philippines and Brunei which have been using English non-stop for more than 100 years. “In the past, Indonesia had been using mainly Bahasa Indonesia and Dutch in their official correspondence. But now English is becoming more common. “Similarly, former Portuguese colony East Timur (Timor Leste) is shifting away from Portuguese to English,” he said.
He said it is only a matter of time in this century before the English language became a global language and not merely a language of England. “I urge the Sabah Government to urgently approve the use of English language as one of our Sabah official languages and to get the Federal Government to concur with Sabah’s stand in the use of the English language,” said Yong.
Sabah and Sarawak had been given a month to come up with a list of “unresolved demands” as per the MA63 to the Federal Government for consideration by the new Pakatan Harapan-led Unity Government of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Sarawak had earlier said it would be going ahead with emphasising English use and some quarters there even proposed that English should be the medium of instruction as it once used to be. Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg included the right to use English as among the conditions of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) agreeing to support the Unity Government.
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