42 Tan Yao Sua and R. Santhiram
the common language policy advocated by the state. With this conversion,
only the vernacular primary schools were allowed to teach in a medium of
instruction other than the Malay language. This common language policy
made further inroads into the Malaysian educational system when all first
year courses in the public institutions of higher learning were conducted
in the Malay language beginning in 1983 (Asmah 1976). However, this
common language policy, which served the internal needs of the country
since independence, finally succumbed to external pressure beginning in
the early 1990s that stemmed from the global spread of English following
the accelerated pace of globalization spearheaded by neo-liberal ideology
and the advent of ICT.
ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION
Since the phasing out of English-medium education from the 1970s and
with English being relegated to the status of a second language within
the school curriculum, there was a sharp decline in the standard of
English among Malaysian students. In fact, the passing rate of English
in public examinations was among the lowest in any subject. Despite a
host of intervening measures, there was no marked improvement in the
proficiency of English among Malaysian students. The global spread of
English following the accelerated pace of globalization beginning in the
1990s placed the Malaysian government at “a linguistic crossroads” (Gill
2002, p. 103) with regard to its future educational language policy.
Clearly, the Malaysian government could no longer ignore the adverse
impact of this poor proficiency in English on its global competitiveness
as a workforce proficient in English is a key requirement to spur its
economic growth within the global context. This is particularly important
to sustain its reliance on foreign direct investments (FDIs) from the TNCs
for economic growth. This reliance on FDIs from the TNCs actually
began in the 1970s when the Malaysian economy shifted from import
substitution to export promotions through the development of labour-
intensive industries by the TNCs (Ghosh 1999). Meanwhile, the aspirations
of the Malaysian government to transform the Malaysian economy into
a knowledge-based economy (KBE) following the construction of the
Multimedia Super Corridor in 1996 (Tan 2002) also required a workforce
proficient in English to capitalize on the advent of ICT that had become
a key component of the KBE. Admittedly, the KBE has emerged as a