PUBLISHED ONJuly 17, 2024 4:30 AMByCandice CaiA proposal to recruit volunteers from Singapore to teach English in Malaysia has stirred debate in Malaysia's parliament on Tuesday (July 16).
It also led one politician stating his opinion that Singaporeans are "not that fluent" in English and suggesting that retired Malaysian English teachers be considered as well.
Speaking in Malay, Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah was quoted by The Malay Mail as saying during a parliamentary Q&A session: "I welcome the government's efforts to co-operate with the Singapore government to get volunteers from there and teach English here, but in my opinion, I don't think they are very fluent in English.
"In fact, I think many of us experts in Malaysia are fluent in English. Will the government engage with experts such as retired teachers?"
His remarks were met with applause from some members of parliament.
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According to Malaysian media reports, Puah's response came after a parliamentary reply by Malaysia's education minister Fadhlina Sidek with regard to the proposal, to which she said that the ministry is studying how the scheme can be implemented.
Fadhlina was quoted by The Star as saying: ""The ministry welcomes (the proposal) and is in the midst of studying the proposal, especially the implementation in educational institutes to ensure that it is in line with the existing policies and rules."
"The ministry will also identify the volunteers who have the necessary qualifications to ensure the quality of the teaching and learning (process)."
The proposal was first raised last month by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, following a visit by Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to Kuala Lumpur.
During a live press conference, the Malaysian premier had highlighted the proposal as part of bilateral discussions.
In his speech, he reportedly said that he and Wong had discussed "the possibility of Singapore considering my humble submission of sending teachers to teach English or some other subjects to many regions in this country".
"Let young graduates make their own choice," Anwar added.
His statement, however, was met with backlash on social media, with some netizens saying that it showed a lack of respect for Malaysians. According to Free Malaysia Today, the proposal was also rejected by Malaysia's National Union of the Teaching Profession, which stated that there were enough locals who could do the job.
Anwar later slammed netizens for misconstruing his statement to suggest that the country is looking to hire English teachers from Singapore. He clarified in an interview with reporters last month that the proposal only involved volunteers to assist the disadvantaged in Malaysia, and that the scheme will be fully funded by Singapore.
What he discussed with Wong, he said, "is to introduce a volunteer scheme, paid by the Singapore government, to go to urban poor areas, rural areas, and the interior of Sabah and Sarawak to teach English".
According to the 2023 EF English Profiency Index, which ranks the English language proficiency of countries, Singapore came out tops among Asian countries, with Malaysia in third place. Globally, Singapore ranked second while Malaysia placed 25th.
