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General
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February 22, 2008 23:07 PM |
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Academic Chairs Abroad Ennoble Malay Language=
- Najib
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 (Bernama) =
-- The establishment of Malay Studies academic chairs by the government =
at selected foreign universities is aimed at ennobling and globalising t=
he Malay language, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak=
.
He said the chairs already established were the Tun Abdul Razak Chair at=
Ohio University in the United States, Malay Studies Chair at Leiden Uni=
versity in the Netherlands and Malay Studies Chair at Victoria Universit=
y in New Zealand.
"Another such chair will be established soon at the Foreign Studies Univ=
ersity in Beijing," he said at the International Malay Language Elocutio=
n Contest for the Deputy Prime Minister's Trophy held at the Putra World=
Trade Centre here tonight.
The text of Najib's speech was read out by Higher Education Ministry's s=
ecretary-general Datuk Dr Zulkefli A. Hassan.
Najib said the government was committed to ennobling the Malay language =
which now had some 300 million speakers, including those from the "Malay=
Diaspora" who had settled in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom=
and the United States.
"Language lovers and proponents must change their mindsets to ensure tha=
t the Malay language remains relevant in this era of globalisation and b=
e at par with the world's other major languages of communication, such a=
s English, French, Spanish and Mandarin.
"To do this, we need imaginative, innovative and well-planned efforts to=
attract foreigners to learn and master the Malay language," he said, re=
ferring to Malaysia's academic cooperation with well-known foreign unive=
rsities.
Najib said to date, 129 higher learning institutions in the American con=
tinent, Asia, Australia and New Zealand were offering Malay Studies.
He said the setting up of the Malay Language International Council in 19=
97, aimed at encouraging and coordinating Malay language studies overse=
as, was another proof of the government's commitment to ennobling the Ma=
lay language.
"We hope all these initiatives would help increase the number of Malay s=
peakers in the world," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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