Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that mastery of Bahasa Melayu by all students, including those in national schools, is essential to improving the quality of the country’s education.
Speaking at an engagement event with the Chinese community at SJKC Perting today, he said this requirement does not limit students from learning their mother tongue or other languages such as Arabic and English.
“I emphasise that students in this country must have a good command of Malay. At the same time, we need to compete globally, which requires a strong command of English,” he said.
He added that the national education system allows children in Chinese and Tamil schools to excel in their respective languages, provided they also master Malay, the official language of the country.
Anwar said the Education Ministry has been instructed to provide sufficient teachers for Chinese and other language subjects, including in national schools, to ensure students have the opportunity to learn multiple languages.
“Our priority is to improve the quality of education for our children, so graduates can compete not only locally or within ASEAN, but globally. We must focus on training teachers, providing facilities, mastering languages, digital skills, AI, mathematics, science, and technology. This will shape the future of our children,” he said.
The prime minister also emphasised the need to maintain good school facilities and infrastructure.
During the event, he announced an allocation of RM13.5 million for infrastructure repairs at SJKC Perting, with an immediate RM300,000 to begin pre-implementation work.
Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and Bentong Member of Parliament Young Syefura Othman were also present at the event.
