Reaffirmation of bilingual policy must include all languages, not just Chinese

December 30, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Current Affairs 

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Written by Ng E-Jay
30 December 2009

Education Minister Ng Eng Hen has spent considerable effort reaffirming Singapore’s bilingual policy, especially the teaching of the Chinese language, but he neglected to pay due consideration to Malay and Tamil, which have been neglected by the mainstream media and the Government in the recent debates surrounding our education policy.

While Mr Ng Eng Hen has stressed that our bilingual policy remains relevant for economic and cultural reasons, it is obvious that in the mind of the Government, economic factors outweigh all others. Why else would the mainstream press devote ample space towards discussing the growing economic role of China and its economic links with Singapore at the same time while discussing our bilingual policy?

Malay and Tamil are also of vital importance to Singapore, and not just for economic reasons, but also for cultural and historical reasons.

Why should we trust the Minister Mentor when he says Singapore “must not be a satellite of any nation” (ST, 30 Dec 09), when the recent debate of language education all centers around Chinese and neglects the other two mother tongue languages?

The bilingual policy has been in force since the early days of independence. However it is only now, after suffering immense brain drain for decades as a result of students not being able to cope with having to learn two orthogonal languages all the way to the age of 18, that MM Lee has publicly acknowledged his mistake. How many generations of Singaporeans have been done in by this flawed policy?

The Government is now importing huge numbers of China and India nationals, amongst other foreigners, to shore up our population and GDP growth. As mentioned before many times on this website, such a policy is unsustainable in the long run, and disproportionately benefits Big Business and the wealthy while leaving the poor and working class out of the economic equation.

Is the Government now loosening its stranglehold on a rigid bilingual policy because now there are enough imported foreigners proficient in Chinese? It seems awfully simple. If your own citizenry is unable to master both English and Chinese at the same time, simply import enough of those who are good in Chinese, while leaving the learning of English to Singapore citizens. It would seem the problem is solved.

Sadly, because the Government does not take care of the quality of foreigners it imports into our country, many of the China nationals who come in are unable to speak proper English, which does considerable damage to our service industry that necessarily serves both local and international clientele.

Furthermore, our prized education system often churns out students who are proficient in NEITHER English nor mother tongue, which is a terrible shame. The unnecessary glorification of singlish in our local TV soap operas and entertainment programmes plays a significant role in this linguistic deterioration. If the Government is truly serious about language education, it should come down hard on this negative influence on our youths.

A reaffirmation of bilingual policy must include all languages, not just Chinese, and it should not just be all about economic ties with foreign powers. Our Government’s obsession with economic growth at the expense of fostering a true national identity and spirit of nationhood is slowly unraveling itself. If we continue on this path, it will be detrimental to long term social stability and harmony.

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Comments

4 Comments on Reaffirmation of bilingual policy must include all languages, not just Chinese

  1. The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 31 Dec 2009 on Thu, 31st Dec 2009 11:21 am

    2. [...] Discourse – Kelvin Teo Writes: Why the term Young PAP is considered a misnomer – Sgpolitics.net : Reaffirmation of bilingual policy must include all languages, not just Chinese – Barnyard Chorus: BREAKING: More women say: I deserve justice by my own terms, I’m worth it. [...]

  2. A on Sat, 2nd Jan 2010 2:33 pm

    3. “The unnecessary glorification of singlish in our local TV soap operas and entertainment programmes plays a significant role in this linguistic deterioration.”

    I disagree. Singlish is part of the pitifully malnutrition “culture” of Singapore. As far as local “TV soap operas and entertainment programmes” go, they are supposed to cater to the locals.

    Perfect Mandarin or English in the local soap operas, in most context, would most definitely alienate the viewers.

  3. Minute on Sun, 3rd Jan 2010 11:45 pm

    4. Personally, I feel that the reaffirmation of the other two mother tongues only reminds us of our cultural roots. Rather, for economic survival in the future, it will be good to have proficiency in Mandarin and English. After all, against the backdrop of both nascent superpowers, somehow China seems to be the more preferred choice by the government. So Mandarin’s the way to go.

  4. The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup: Week 02 on Sat, 9th Jan 2010 11:17 am

    5. [...] Discourse – Kelvin Teo Writes: Why the term Young PAP is considered a misnomer – Sgpolitics.net : Reaffirmation of bilingual policy must include all languages, not just Chinese – Barnyard Chorus: BREAKING: More women say: I deserve justice by my own terms, I’m worth it. [...]

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