“I have discussed it with the higher education minister (Wanita Umno chief Noraini Ahmad), and she agreed that it be made compulsory for all foreign students in the country to learn Bahasa Malaysia,” says Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob while speaking at the Umno General Assembly.
Ismail said that the measure is part of his government’s initiative to empower our national language, with aims to make it ASEAN’s second language.
“The time has come for us to be proud of Bahasa Melayu. Therefore, there is no reason for us to feel awkward when speaking the language even on the international stage because ‘Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa’ (Language is the soul of the nation).”
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