The move to consider making it compulsory for students to obtain a pass in English in order to pass their SPM is a thought worthy of practice and should be looked into critically.

Whereas a pass in Bahasa Malaysia is necessary as it is the official language of the nation and a language used by all Malaysians, a pass in English is also necessary as it is the lingua franca of the world we live in today.

It must be noted however that this move must be carried out within the background of a teaching workforce that is outstanding and of the highest calibre. In other words, we would need teachers whose understanding and comprehension of English is impeccable. 

As with many policies that we have undertaken previously it is vital that we would first have to honestly answer this, 'Are we capable of implementing this policy?' And if the answer is no then we have to ask ourselves, 'Why?'

It would appear that we are not capable of implementing this move anytime now or in the near future. Many quarters that are supportive of this move have reservations and doubts as to whether this move can be effectively implemented. Existing circumstances point out to us that the standard of written and spoken English in public schools and local universities is totally outrageous. 

The earlier policy of using Bahasa Malaysia as a medium of instruction, rightly or wrongly, has created a generation of individuals who can neither speak good BM nor good English. It is of this that we are most fearful. Without unyielding implementation, any idea whether good or bad, will ultimately turn out to be dreadful. And this is our specialty.

The next question to be asked then is why? This is without a doubt due to our education system. There are many inherent structural and mechanical flaws in the system that we have now. 

Other than the values of critical thinking and profound understanding that we have not adopted as the basis of what the whole education system should be based upon, the level of competence of those in the teaching profession whether in schools or local universities is generally mediocre. 

The very fact that the system we have at the moment is not capable of implementing this move now goes only to show that there has been something very wrong with our education system from the beginning. If not, the question of why we are not capable of implementing this move would not have crop up. 

Hence while this is a good move worth implementing, the government must not be hasty in rushing through this fundamental policy change without take note of structural problems like the urban-rural divide and the quality of teaching staff. It is here also that the education ministry should be commended for their open and constructive consultation practice. 

The command of language is important as it forms the core of which all other fields of thought and understanding depend on. As philosophy is important for it forms the fundamental of every field of study we have today, language is pertinent to ensure the comprehension of philosophy and knowledge. In this sense, other than Bahasa Malaysia, the learning and command of English is therefore essential. 

A move to make a pass in English compulsory only serves to reflect this appreciation.

There are only but a few languages that can express the complexities and dynamism of the modern world and English is one of them. Command of English will allow the mastering of these complexities. Making a pass compulsory will expedite the command of English. 

The English language accommodates many terms that we need to understand if we are to answer the call of our nation in moving to the forefront of every known field and at the same time to discover new fields. 

Existential guilt, the other, transcendental, a priori, utilitarianism, thing in itself, and perspectivism and deconstruction are among some of the terms that have only been able to be understood adequately within the English language, which is most common to us, and a few other languages. 

The notion that by doing this we are turning our backs on our mother tongue, or that we are learning the language of the colonisers or that we are the victims of language colonisation can no longer be accepted. 

We should be able to move beyond this notion. Learning a language will not result in that but incompetence and backwardness will.

Source: http://malaysiakini.com/letters/106594