Malaysian opposition leader calls on young people in the country to learn Chinese
According to a report by Singapore’s “Straits Times” on October 21, Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim called on children in the country to master Chinese because it is an important regional “economic language”.
Anwar Ibrahim said in a speech on October 20 that learning non-Malay languages should not only be an acceptable practice for people, but also on the premise of not affecting the status of Malay as a national language. This kind of learning should also receive strong support.
"In the 1950s and 1960s, the debate about Malay and Chinese was more about race. In 2018, the focus of the issue was that Malay was the national language, while Chinese was a very strategic business language. ."He says. “As long as you unswervingly accept Malay as a national language, the behavior of mastering other languages should be supported. As an important business language in Malay, I suggest that Malay youths should master it.”
Anwar made the above point in a speech at the 47th Annual Conference of the Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM). He is the former head of the organization.