KUCHING: Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem will not back down on English as the second official language for Sarawak despite opposition from many parties.
“Whether they agree with me in theSemenanjung (peninsula) or not, I don’t care,” Adenan said to loud applause during a ceremony to hand over native land titles to residents in Serian, about 60km from here, yesterday.
“I made English the second language in Sarawak. Of course, Bahasa Malaysia is still the main language. We agree and have no issue with that.
“But what is wrong with us also being proficient in English? It’s the language of science, learning, literature, technology, business, research, communication and international relations,” he added.
Last month, Adenan announced that English would be the state’s second official language, leading to criticism from Yayasan Karyawan, Perkasa and former Cabinet minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim.
Yesterday, Adenan also repeated the state policy of allowing non-Muslims to use the word “Allah” to refer to God.
He remarked that there were more non-Muslim bumiputra in Sarawak than Muslims.
“You can use ‘Allah’ any time you want. No problem. Just use it with respect,” he said.
Adenan added that he did not want extremism to take root in Sarawak.
“I will not tell you how to practise your religion. I am a Muslim and I try to be a good one.
“But I will not tell my Christian friends how to worship. It is their business,” he said.
On oil royalty, Adenan admitted that the Federal Government had not agreed to hike the rate from 5% to 20% yet.
“But we won’t give up, even though the price of oil has fallen. We’ll stop (negotiating) for a bit. When the price goes up again, we’ll continue.”
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