WHETHER it is sheer hypocrisy or not on the part of Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to jump on the bandwagon of language nationalism to instruct government departments to return or reject correspondence or letters in languages other than Malay remains to be seen.

The question of Malay as the national language has long been settled in the country. There is no reason or rhyme to invoke language nationalism anymore other than for political reasons.

Malay is the language of communication in government departments, medium of instruction in public schools, universities and others. There is no question of other languages creeping in surreptitiously to replace Malay.

If there is fear, then certainly it is a misplaced one or based on paranoia.

However, in schools and certain public universities, English might be used to encourage students to become proficient in the language. In universities and colleges established to cater for primarily for Malay students, I understand that English is used as the medium of instruction.

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