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ENGLISH IN SINGAPORE

AND MALAYSIA

Common Roots, Different Fruits

Lubna Alsagoff

INTRODUCTION

Singapore and Malaysia share a common history as colonial territories of

the British. Each gained their independence from the British at around the

same time, with the two countries even bound together as a single nation

for a short period of time. Yet, if we examine the language policies of the

two nations, we see a distinct difference in the paths that Singapore and

Malaysia have taken in their approaches to managing linguistic diversity,

and in their stances towards English. While Singapore has unambiguously

embraced the utilitarian value of English and placed it as central to its

language in education policies, Malaysia has, in many ways, been more

ambivalent and circumspect about the value and place of English especially

in relation to Malay.

In this chapter, we examine how their language policies have also

sprung from very different sets of ideologies about language, which has

meant that despite their common roots, Singapore and Malaysia have

Reproduced from Education and Globalization in Southeast Asia: Issues and Challenges, edited by
Lee Hock Guan (Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2017). This version was obtained electronically direct
from the publisher on condition that copyright is not infringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced
without the prior permission of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
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