Media freedom guaranteed, but don't use it to divide country, says Anwar
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reiterated that the government is firm in its stance on guaranteeing media freedom in the country but that freedom cannot be used to undermine the country's unity and harmony, including by stirring up 3R issues (Race, Religion, and Royalty).
In his keynote address at the MPI-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards 2023 ceremony on Friday (June 7), Anwar said Malaysia is capable of becoming a great nation if local journalists focus on reporting to ensure peace and highlight the country's progress.
Anwar also urged the people to improve their command of English without marginalising efforts to make Bahasa Malaysia the lingua franca.
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In his keynote address at the MPI-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards 2023 ceremony on Friday (June 7), Anwar said Malaysia is capable of becoming a great nation if local journalists focus on reporting to ensure peace and highlight the country's progress.
Anwar also urged the people to improve their command of English without marginalising efforts to make Bahasa Malaysia the lingua franca.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yc6a4k8m
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I want to assure that the spirit is still there, even though it has caused a little concern
00:07 because our determination in addressing several issues related to safety,
00:16 about understanding of chauvinism and religion, or the flow of religious excesses.
00:28 I want to clarify that I have never had the opportunity to speak in a ministerial assembly
00:38 that encourages action to be taken or controls the freedom of the press and media
00:50 to give views, statements and criticisms.
00:55 I want to clarify that because two days ago I met with the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Volker Tuch
01:05 who is also a friend of mine, especially when I was on the side of the opposition.
01:15 I have stated that I am not in favor of education to guarantee freedom.
01:24 But we have a problem if we are offended by the issue of 3Rs, which are sometimes considered as a scary ghost.
01:35 It is not true. We can be offended by the 3Rs, we can talk about community, religion and king.
01:42 But we cannot use the issue that can divide and divide us.
01:51 I am now urging the Ministry of Education and Communications to increase the control of English language in our country
02:02 because it is a temporary need to guarantee the future of our children and AI.
02:11 But I have never been offended by the fact that the language of the Malay language is the language of communication,
02:19 the language of framework, the language of knowledge. I have never been offended by that.
02:24 So it is not a zero-sum game, not to divide the English language by eliminating the Malay language.
02:33 It is to strengthen the control of the Malay language.
02:36 And this should be understood by our non-Malay friends.
02:40 Sometimes the city elites and some of the small ones,
02:45 the sarjana and the elites, are not Malay,
02:48 they see the true dignity of the English language, but they are still complaining when it comes to the Malay language.
02:56 This is what causes confusion and suspicion among the Malay people.
03:04 There is no problem in encouraging and strengthening the control of the English language.
03:12 But don't give it as if you are trying to diminish the interest of the Malay language.
03:18 This is our problem and we have to deal with it in a wise way.
03:26 Only then can we win the hearts of the people.
03:29 If I remember correctly, I believe that this man is smart, he can read and he can do his own calculations.
03:34 When I was the Prime Minister for the first 4-5 months, I did not talk about the importance of the English language.
03:44 I emphasized to the people the importance of the Malay language as the main language of our country.
03:55 And we need to not only control, but also increase the need for control.
04:01 Many of my friends, including the Prime Minister, asked me, "Why do you look so depressed?"
04:09 I told them that this is something that needs to be emphasized to the people.
04:14 But imagine how many city elites at that time,
04:19 whether they were Malay, who were more English than English,
04:25 or non-Malay, who started to attack.
04:30 Nuway started to raise the question of his inner feelings.
04:38 He was so determined to strengthen the Malay language and leave the English language.
04:46 I understood that the people were not only the city elites,
04:50 but also the intellectuals.
04:55 We need to believe that the foundation of our country's system
05:03 must be obeyed and implemented.
05:07 So when they were convinced that I did not reject the question,
05:12 I gave the order to the Minister of Education and the Minister of Higher Education
05:21 to defend the foundation of the Malay language without any resistance.
05:27 But at the same time, we need to make efforts to increase the need for English.
05:38 I do not want to represent a narrow perspective of English in terms of mathematics and science.
05:44 I cannot control the language with mathematics and science.
05:48 It must be through the language and the scriptures.
05:53 Only then can the language be strengthened.
05:57 And this is what we are doing.
06:00 Thank you.
06:01 [END]
06:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]