Deputy Chief Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the state government did not want the people to be left behind in the world of knowledge, especially scientific knowledge.

“We don’t want our young people to be sidelined because the digital world is dominated by the English language. We want them to be responsible for being able to master the digital world with effective use of English,” he was quoted as saying by The Borneo Post.

“Malay is still an official language and I urge all parties to uphold it without casting aside the importance of also knowing English.

Saying Sarawakians were encouraged to learn as many languages as they could, he added:“Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic and so on, knowing many languages will give you an advantage.”

Awang Tengah said this at the Sarawak Civil Service “Sayembara Dekon” Chief Minister’s Trophy 2017 finals on Tuesday night. He was representing Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.

“Dekon” is a combination of declamation (deklamasi) and acting (lakon) in which the script is written as poetry. This was the seventh year it has been held.

The Kuching Port Authority’s Kumpulan Bayu won first place with its performance entitled “Bangkit”, taking home the championship trophy and cash prize of RM2,000.

Kumpulan Puspa Kencana from the Miri District Education Office, with its “Di Balik Awan”, won second spot and took home a cash prize of RM1,800.

Third place went to Osman Zaini from SK Rajau Ensika, Simunjan, for his “Saudara, Mereka” performance. He won RM1,500 cash.

All winners also received certificates and books published by DBP, the report said.