Malay language assessment for those applying for Malaysian citizenship - Senator
KUALA LUMPUR - A senator suggested today that individuals applying for Malaysian citizenship via naturalisation should undergo a Malay language assessment.
Senator Datuk A. Kesavadas said that the suggested assessment, involving the National Unity Ministry and the Home Ministry, should be conducted on everyone, regardless of whether they were celebrities, businessmen or professional football players.
"Those who want citizenship should be able to communicate and write in our national language.
"What’s the use of being Malaysian but you can’t speak well using the national language. Won’t they feel ashamed compared to the foreign workers who can speak our national language well?” he said during the debate on the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Senator Michael Mujah Lihan meanwhile suggested that the National Unity Ministry focus on programmes that can unite Malaysians, including cultural, arts and heritage programmes.
"This is a good step to ensure we all understand every culture’s history, religion and customs. It needs to be maintained and inculcated in each of us,” he said, while Senator Dr Wan Martina Wan Yusoff congratulated the Unity Ministry for its previous suggestion of having a full recitation of the Rukun Negara at the opening of each Parliament term.
"As Malaysians, we need to renew our vows to build our country. The spirit of nationalism with the values of Rukun Negara is vital to unite our multicultural people,” she said as she urged the government to draft a policy to strengthen national unity. - BERNAMA
