SIBU: Encouraging the use of English in daily correspondences should not be misconstrued as being less patriotic.
State BN secretary-general Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi said such initiative could help to maintain the standard of English language here.
He said this when asked on the state government making use of English for its official correspondence.
“It is not strictly and entirely using English but both English and Bahasa Malaysia should be used as medium of correspondence in Sarawak.
“And as a matter of fact, we have been using both languages all this while, even in the DUN (State Legislative Assembly) proceedings and other official meetings.
“The alarming issue here is the deteriorating standard of English in general that worries us. To maintain the standard of English, it is imperative that we encourage more usage of English in our daily correspondence and that doesn’t mean we are less patriotic than other Malaysians.
“This matter should not be misconstrued,” Dr Rundi, who is Assistant Minister of Public Utilities (Electricity and Telecommunications), told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Sarawak has taken a step forward when Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem announced that correspondence and communication between the general public and state government bodies could now be conducted in English, apart from Bahasa Malaysia.
Assistant Minister of Social Development (Youth) Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah supported Adenan’s stand in protecting the states’ right in his speech at Civil Service Day on Wednesday.
Among matters that the chief minister touched on was the state official endorsement and acceptance of English as language of communication and correspondence alongside BM, said Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman.
“This will surely improve our civil service as well as students as English is widely spoken in the world. It is also the language of science, business, international trade, technology as well as in the field of medicine,” he said.