(The following is a brief part reproduced from the book, ‘My Lifelong Challenge – Singapore’s Bilingual Journey’ by Lee Kuan Yew, the father of the Modern Singapore and its Former Premier)
This brings me to my second principle, which is that language policy can become a key to economic success. Indeed it can make or break a nation. By choosing English as our language of administration, we managed to avoid the political fallout that would have come had we chosen either Malay over Chinese or Chinese over Malay. Language issues can stir strong emotions. Sri Lanka, another former British colony with a racially diverse population, is an example of a country where political developments might have panned out differently had its leaders chosen English as its working language instead of the language of its ethnic majority, Sinhalese.
The 15 per cent of its population who are Tamil-speaking might have felt less imposed-upon. Singapore has been spared ethnic unrest because we have made tremendous effort to ensure equitable treatment of all races and communities. The stability has enabled us to direct our energies to growing the economy and raising our people’s standard of living. Knowing English has also enabled our people to secure jobs much faster; the multinational companies which set up their factories, research laboratories and regional headquarters in Singapore demand workers who are fluent in spoken and written English. In more recent years, with the rise of China, Singaporean workers who are bilingual in English and Chinese have also become much sought after by companies seeking to operate in China. Even China’s companies desire Singapore workers, seeing them, as capable and incorrupt managers.
Language transmits values too
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My third principle is that language is more than a tool of communication; it transmits values too. That is why we have insisted that all school-going children learn their mother tongue, whether Chinese, Malay or Tamil, as their second language. This way, they will have the means to tap on the rich heritage that their respective culture has to offer. Folk stories, for instance, are replete with tales of courage, generosity, hard work, honesty and filial piety. These are all good traditional values that are worth teaching and transmitting. By getting children to read these stories in their formative years, we are helping them to imbibe values that will shape their character.
Reading these stories in their mother tongue will also help the children to develop a realisation that they are descended from civilisations that are thousands of years old. This will help them develop a sense of identity as to who they are and where they have come from.
I am not saying that one must know one’s mother tongue in order to have a well-developed sense of identity or that worthy values can be transmitted only via the mother tongue. There are many older Chinese Singaporeans who speak only English but who have no identity issues. Worthy values can be transmitted in any language, in the same way that the Bible or the Shakespearean classics can be read in any number of languages. What I am saying is that each ethnic culture has its own unique heritage that is worth preserving and teaching young Singaporeans about.
