Sarawak adopts English as official language

KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem announced on Wednesday that the state had adopted English as the official language of the state administration, apart from Bahasa Malaysia.
"From now on, all official correspondence can be done in both languages. There is no need for it to be solely in Bahasa Malaysia all the time," he said at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.
He said the fact that many graduates in the country were not fluent in English had significantly hindered their prospects.
"I recently read that more than 2,000 doctors in Malaysia who had completed their studies gave up their medical careers because of poor English ... this is very sad," he said.
Adenan said there were those who had since labelled him as not being nationalistic or patriotic.
"When I advocate for the use of English in Sarawak, I am just being practical and logical. The use of English is unavoidable and a must these days.
"I do not know who made the decision not to use English in the past, but it has adversely affected other people now," he said.
He also reminded all civil servants in the state to be skillful in English as it was a universal language used across the globe.