I am honoured to be here this morning at this meaningful and important

event, one that will further transform education achievement in Sabah. In

the last five years, public examination results of students in Sabah have
shown tremendous improvement and I view this event as an effort to
make further strides in bringing competency levels in this state to newer
heights.

I wish to congratulate the Sabah Education Department on your initiative

to organise the English Day programme and to announce Tuesdays as
English Day for the education community, including for those who work in
education offices. By not limiting the programme to schools, you are
setting the right example.

We need to embark on continuous efforts to encourage the younger

generation to be well versed in English. Although other languages are also
widely spoken, English is the official medium of communication in many
countries. It is estimated that the number of people worldwide who use
English to communicate on a regular basis is two billion, which is about a
third of the global population.

It is worrying to note that some students think that they can do well later
on without mastering at least some of the key competencies in the English
language. In a highly globalized world, it is necessary to be able to
communicate in English as it is the dominant business language.
Feedback from all over the world shows that cross-border business
communication is most often conducted in English. This languages
importance in the global market place cannot be understated. Learning
English can change your lives and we need to keep encouraging students
to not shy away from this language.

For those who enjoy reading and other forms of media, many of the
worlds top films, books and music are published and produced in English.
By learning English, you will have access to a great wealth of knowledge
and entertainment. About half of the content produced in the Internet is in
English. This does translate into a huge amount of information that one
could lose out on by ignoring the language. While learning English can be
challenging and time consuming, it is necessary to make the sacrifice as it
does open doors to many opportunities and to some extent, boosts
innovation.
It is not an easy task to start with something new. Some resist speaking
English as they regard it as glorification of a colonial language. Others shy
away when they are labelled as showing off or being arrogant when they
use the language. This is not a good situation to be in as it may
demotivate those who are willing to brush up their English proficiency.

I understand there are a number of programmes run by the Education

Department to upgrade the level of English achievement and the level of
proficiency among users. Some 23 schools are currently taking part in the
Highly Immersive Programme. This programme is meant to encourage the
use of English as a medium of communication beyond the classroom.
Another initiative is the Dual Language Programmethrough which
Mathematics and Science are taught in English. Other than fulfilling the
criteria set by the minister, schools need to conduct surveys to gain
consensus from parents for this to proceed.

I am glad to welcome 15 Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETA) from

the United States of America to be part of the Upholding Bahasa Malaysia
and Strengthening English Language policy. Feedback from students and
schools about this collaboration between the Malaysian and American
governments has been positive. Apart from increasing interest among
students, English language teachers are able to further develop their
professional network and share classroom ideas, experiences and
techniques with one another.

I wish to share that the Sabah Government is committed to seeing

improvement of proficiency in English among students. We will work hand
in hand especially with the Sabah Education Department to ensure basic
needs in schools especially in rural and remote areas, are met. We hope
this will reduce the gap between rural and urban areas and improve
achievement among students. It is our collective responsibility
to instil confidence in using this language so that it is used in daily
communication and is not limited to just aiming to get the minimum
requirement for passing it in exams.

I once again commend the Sabah Education Department for this effort to
uplift the application of the English Language among students and the
education community. I wish you all the best in successfully implementing
this programme.
On that note, I am pleased to declare the English Day Programme
officially launched.
Thank you.