KUALA NERUS: The Education Ministry's wish to include Malay as one of the United Nations' (UN) official languages can be achieved as the language is "flexible" in nature, said its minister Dr Maszlee Malik.
Maszlee said its ever-evolving and flexible nature made Malay a "language of knowledge" that could improve alongside other world languages and become relevant in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Maszlee said the English language, which has its own standard framework under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), is one of six official languages in the UN.
"Therefore, the creation of the Standard Malay Language Framework (KBSM) by language experts will be a big boost to the speakers of the Malay language in the context of culture and language aspirations.
“The Education Ministry will be a key player in ensuring the creation of the framework with the help of experts and related agencies.
“This framework is very crucial to ensure the Malay language is scientific in nature and consistent, besides becoming the main reference for the world and one day, become one of the official languages at the UN,” he said.
Maszlee also said the cooperation between the Institute of Language and Literature, the Malaysian Institute of Translation and Books and higher learning institutes must be strengthened to ensure the continuity of the Malay language.
Maszlee said this during the Prime Minister’s Cup Malay Language International Speech Competition 2018 at the Sultan Zainal Abidin University (UniSZA) here yesterday night (Dec 8).
A total of 50 people from 31 countries took part in the competition, themed “The Internationalisation of the Malay Language”.
Maszlee said the print, electronic and social media also played a key role in promoting the excellence and relevance of the Malay language on the world stage.