ID :
176929
Thu, 04/21/2011 - 06:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/176929
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GOVT GIVING DUE RECOGNITION TO MANDARIN, SAYS DPM
BY NG CHE YEAN
BEIJING, April 21 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government is giving due recognition to Mandarin despite the status of Bahasa Melayu as Malaysia's official and national language, as well as a medium of instruction.
He pointed out that non-Chinese students in Malaysia were encouraged to learn Mandarin in school.
Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said he believed that having a good grasp of Mandarin would allow the younger generation in Malaysia to appreciate the language and culture of the Chinese, desribing it as an important asset in Malaysia's treasure trove of multicultural existence.
"In schools in Malaysia, Mandarin is being taught not as a foreign language but as a mother tongue," he said when visiting Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) here Wednesday.
He noted that Malaysian students had taken first degree courses in Mandarin at BFSU in efforts to enhance the teaching of Mandarin in Malaysian schools and institutions of higher learning.
A total of 119 Malaysian students sponsored by the ministry and MARA had pursued the programme at BFSU since 2007.
Muhyiddin, who is on a week-long visit to China, said he would hold talks with several parties to enhance cooperation on education between Malaysia andChina.
He was confident that linkages between the people of the two countries would deepen in view of increasing interest in Bahasa Melayu among the people in China.
Besides BFSU which started its Bahasa Melayu studies in 1961, five other universities in China are offering similar programmes.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is chairman of the Malay Studies Centre at BFSU.
BEIJING, April 21 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government is giving due recognition to Mandarin despite the status of Bahasa Melayu as Malaysia's official and national language, as well as a medium of instruction.
He pointed out that non-Chinese students in Malaysia were encouraged to learn Mandarin in school.
Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said he believed that having a good grasp of Mandarin would allow the younger generation in Malaysia to appreciate the language and culture of the Chinese, desribing it as an important asset in Malaysia's treasure trove of multicultural existence.
"In schools in Malaysia, Mandarin is being taught not as a foreign language but as a mother tongue," he said when visiting Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) here Wednesday.
He noted that Malaysian students had taken first degree courses in Mandarin at BFSU in efforts to enhance the teaching of Mandarin in Malaysian schools and institutions of higher learning.
A total of 119 Malaysian students sponsored by the ministry and MARA had pursued the programme at BFSU since 2007.
Muhyiddin, who is on a week-long visit to China, said he would hold talks with several parties to enhance cooperation on education between Malaysia andChina.
He was confident that linkages between the people of the two countries would deepen in view of increasing interest in Bahasa Melayu among the people in China.
Besides BFSU which started its Bahasa Melayu studies in 1961, five other universities in China are offering similar programmes.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is chairman of the Malay Studies Centre at BFSU.
