Dr Annuar Rapaee said the island state upheld the mother tongue while ensuring mastery of the English language, The Borneo Post reported.

“Bear in mind that the main reason we are far behind Singapore is because we switched our medium of instruction to Malay,” the deputy education, innovation, and talent development minister was quoted as saying.

Earlier today, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris associate professor Azizah Zain was reported by Harian Metro as saying that the growing trend of urban pupils using English as their main spoken language could undermine the nation’s cultural identity.

Children, she said, should master the Malay language up to the ages of seven or eight before focussing on other languages such as English.

Azizah acknowledged that mastering English offered advantages such as global communication skills, access to knowledge and better job prospects.

However, she maintained that children who developed a solid foundation in the Malay language before learning English were likely to be more effective than those who adopted English as their primary language from an early age.

Annuar went on to say that Azizah’s concern seemed to revolve around protecting the Malay language rather than ensuring students could compete globally.

He said the English language should not be blamed for diminishing the nation’s cultural identity, arguing that the root cause of the problem lay in a child’s upbringing and unchecked external influences.

“By teaching them (children) English, you open up the entire world to them.”