English And Patriotism

I'd be going for an English copy-editing class in about 30 minutes, so here's a quick post of a story from the Malaysian national news agency, Bernama, about speaking in English and patriotism.

You know, in Malaysia, there is this whole issues of English being the language of our former colonial master, the British. Here's the news:

Using English Doesn't Make One Less Patriotic, Says Raja Zarith

BANGI, Jan 8 (Bernama) -- Having a good mastery of the English language does not make a Malaysian pro-British or less patriotic, says the wife of the Tunku Mahkota of Johor, Raja Zarith Sofia.

Rather, she said, fluency in English and a good and strong command of it as a language was necessary in the 21st century, whether in daily life, at social gatherings or at work.

"It has nothing to do with being pro-English or pro-British, or with glorifying our British colonial past.

"It has nothing to do with us being any less nationalistic or patriotic," she said when delivering her lecture entitled "Going Global: The Use of the English Language in 21st Century Malaysia" at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia here today.

Raja Zarith Sofia said she chose to speak on the topic as she felt it was an important and timely issue.

"Last year, we celebrated our 50th year of Independence after having been a British colony since the 19th century." [Source: "Using English Doesn't Make One Less Patriotic".]

Hmmm... I agree with her completely. I mean, since when knowing less English was an act of patriotism?