KOTA KINABALU: The National Student Forum Competition has proven to be an excellent platform for inspiring and fostering a sense of love and pride for the national language among Malaysia’s multi-racial society.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor said the National Student Forum competition, now in its 33rd year, must be maintained as it is one of the approaches to strengthen the role of the Malay language as a medium of integration and unity, and subsequently, in nation-building.
“This programme has also successfully produced Chinese Secondary Independent School students who are capable of debating and expressing insightful ideas.
“At the same time, it also helped to enhance the students’ self-confidence, teamwork spirit, and creativity. I believe this process is crucial in shaping the younger generation to become great leaders one day,” he said at the closing ceremony of the competition at SM Kian Kok here today.
Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Abidin Madingkir, delivered his speech.
“We are well aware of the main challenges in upholding the dignity of our national language, particularly the influence of foreign languages and the use of mixed or rojak language in various communication mediums such as social media.
“This challenge is not only faced by our language but also by other languages around the world.
“However, we should not bow to these challenges because, through the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, we have active involvement and support from all communities in preserving the national language,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the importance of other languages, especially English, for broader knowledge acquisition cannot be denied either.
“This is why we support the MBMMBI policy, which is Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the English Language,” he said.
He said it was an honour for Sabah to be selected as the host for this year’s National Level Student Forum competition, which saw the participation of students from all over the country.
Hajiji also commended the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) for its unwavering support of the programme, in collaboration with the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong), Malaysia Han Cultural Association and the Translator and Creative Writing Association (PERSPEKTIF).-pr/BNN
