It is disheartening to note that there’s so much resistance to calls for the raising of English proficiency in this country. We dream of being able to hold our own on the word stage, and yet we cling to a world view that ignores English’s position as the lingua franca of commerce and technology.

Figures that indicate a need to push for greater English literacy are often met with derision and protests, and those advocating such a push are accused of glorifying the language of colonialists and trying to devalue the national language. The deafening din comes at the price not only of our global competitiveness, but also of local employers’ rejection of our young job seekers. As more and more local companies try to compete on the international stage, they get more and more anxious to employ those who are proficient in English.

Certainly, Bahasa Malaysia is a heritage all Malaysians should cherish. It unites us all in spite of our different cultural backgrounds and allows us to converse with each other no matter where in the country we are.

But we cannot allow our love for the language to become our handicap. Malaysians will always be able to speak Bahasa Malaysia to each other, and as long as we shop at the pasar or lepak with our friends, it’ll never go out of style. What clearly will make us go out of style is this attitude of ignoring the importance of being proficient in a language that is necessary for us to reach beyond our national borders.

We ought to congratulate the local cartoonists who have come out to ridicule this attitude and have thereby stimulated discussion on the issue. Without artists like Hsxm and Vulpineninja taking on the sensitivities of the Malay community with aplomb, we might have missed the many stories about Malays being shamed by fellow Malays for trying to speak English or stories from people who wished they had spent more time on the language. This is obviously a problem we are all aware of and need to address before it hurts us all.

You’re not discarding your culture when you learn English. Be proud of your heritage, but don’t let pride cause the fall of our youth.