Malaysian Prime Minister Gives Press Conference in Perfect English

Posted on | March 24, 2014 | 52 Comments

Yes, I know the big headline is about the lost flight — “It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean” — but watching it live on TV, what struck me is that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak delivered his press conference in such wonderfully fluent English. Razak spoke rather slowly, but quite clearly, and with only the slightest hint of an accent.

This was a triumph of the global Anglosphere. Anyone who speaks English worldwide — in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa or wherever — could have understood every word by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, as much as if it had been the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom speaking.

Could someone please explain, then, why it is considered xenophobic bigotry for us to expect immigrants to learn English? All over the world, English is recognized as the language of commerce and prosperity. Welcome to America. Now speak English.

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Comments

52 Responses to “Malaysian Prime Minister Gives Press Conference in Perfect English”

RS
March 24th, 2014 @ 10:24 am

Mandating English proficiency as well as general cultural assimilation to the idea of what the United States is, i.e. not a tribe but a philosophy, prevents the Left from dividing and conquering. Therefore, it must be prevented at all costs by keeping discrete groups insulated and isolated from the mainstream. Xenophobia is just a convenient label to slap on it.
Dana
March 24th, 2014 @ 10:26 am

And, without having seen and heard it myself, I would guess that the Prime Minister delivered it in grammatically perfect English, a well, a skill that so many native-born Americans seem to lack.
Quartermaster
March 24th, 2014 @ 10:39 am

English is the language of business, Science and Aviation. Essentially, English is the lingua franca of the world.

No wonder it’s considered the language of oppressors.
RS
March 24th, 2014 @ 10:56 am

BTW, one of the main facilitators of abysmal English language performance among immigrants in this country is the NEA. Immigrant children are mainstreamed, but it correcting their spoken and written English is deemed to be culturally insensitive and disrespectful to their heritage. Thus, does my spouse, the professor of English as a Second Language, find herself trying to play catch-up with kids who’ve been in this country for 15 years and who have diplomas from American public high schools. Yet, their English is flawed at the sentence level. It’s an abomination. It’s also why there are waiting lists among Muslim families in our town to get their kids into Catholic elementary schools.
Esther Williams
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:01 am

Well, obviously charges of “racism” and “anti-semitism” are nothing more than psychological warfare tactics that are used because they have found to be effective.

And they’re effective because we choose to let them be effective.

Choose to fight back.
Punditarian
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:04 am

Agree, but I would have preferred if he had said “these new data.”
MichaelAdams
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:11 am

Yes! Laughing, but, yes.
Dana
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:21 am

Now, can you explain abysmal English language performance among people who were born here and lived here their entire lives?
Dana
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:22 am

Darn, missed that one!
Rob Crawford
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:27 am

Racial grievance industry and a culture that treats education as a nasty social disease.
RS
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:28 am

It’s a similar explanation. My spouse sees things from the perspective of an immigrant as English is her fourth language, and the one in which she chose to do her Ph.D. She could do twenty posts on this topic, believe me.
Rosalie
March 24th, 2014 @ 11:51 am

I was sorry to hear that. There is no longer hope. I wonder what CNN is going to do now? This leaves a big hole in their programming.
Dana
March 24th, 2014 @ 12:03 pm

Oh, they’ll keep beating this dead horse until, at the very least, a piece of unquestionably identifiable debris is picked up. Fox, on the other hand, will split time on this story and Obaminablecare.

There’s a possibility that CNN will spend a good amount of time on the President’s trip to Europe, to “reassure” the Europeans, but only if he comes off looking good in the process. If he comes off looking bad, then Fox will give it more coverage.
PatDissent
March 24th, 2014 @ 12:27 pm

Why?

Because we lack moral clarity. We have become so buffaloed by Liberalism and so removed from the presence of God we wrongly believe we have the moral low road. It’s only when you stop and think do you realize Liberals are projecting and THEY have the low road.

After all, once you believe in murdering babies what else could possibly be seen as wrong? Once you realize THAT then you have no problem seeing through Goddamned Commie bullshit. Clarity comes, and you can separate wisdom from fools.
Kirby McCain
March 24th, 2014 @ 12:39 pm

Funny you should say that. It was on this date in 1980 that ABC renamed it’s nightly Iran hostage program, Night Line. This foreshadowed Turner’s CNN.
Idiotstomper
March 24th, 2014 @ 12:40 pm

The difference is anti-semitism actually exists, and you’re living proof. How dare those Jews object to being slaughtered, huh?
Esther Williams
March 24th, 2014 @ 12:45 pm

I’m curious – by what rationale do you justify the war against Christianity, the Constitution of the United States, and Western civilization perpetrated by the following individuals:

– Gyorgy Schwartz (Soros)
– David Axelrod
– Mark Potok (SPLC)
– Noam Chomsky
– Cass Sunstein
– Peter Orszag
– Jill Stein (Green)
– Paul Krugman
– Michael Bloomberg
– Ezekiel Emanuel (Obamacare Architect)
– David Coleman (Common Core Architect)
– Robert Reich
– Bernadine Dohrn
– Louis Michael Seidman
– Andrew Stern (SEIU)
– Stephen Lerner
– Saul Alinksy
– Fox-Piven
– Lois Lerner
– Bill Maher (Anti-Christian Bigot)
– Dan Savage (Sodomite Activist)
– Mikey Weinstein (Anti-Christian Bigot)
– Karl Marx
– Lev Bronstein (Trotsky)
RS
March 24th, 2014 @ 12:54 pm

His comment was not a “justification” of a “war against Christianity,” by any rational, fair reading. Anti-Semitism has a long, storied history, like since the first misinterpretation of the results of the Council of Jerusalem and extending through the Substitution Theology of modern Christian denominations. Only a dolt could refuse to see it is alive and well throughout the world, including but not limited to our own Oval Office.
Idiotstomper
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:14 pm

Your hatred is well thought out, rehearsed, planned, and you probably have 10 other lists the second I object to you twisting facts. But you know that already, don’t you? Your lies are second nature by now – it doesn’t even bother you anymore, does it? Plant the Jew hate seed in as many places as possible, right? You’ve been waiting all day to spring your “dirty Jew” list, haven’t you?
DEG
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:14 pm

Sorry to burst the bubble guys. The reason the Malaysian PM spoke perfect English is that English is the national language of Malaysia, just as it is the national language of Singapore. When each of those countries became independent states, they chose English as the official language to avoid ethnic strife. Malaysia is roughly 85% Malay and 15% Chinese. These percentages are reversed in Singapore. Using English as the national languages keeps either ethnic group from feeling either dominant or dominated.
Zohydro
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:17 pm

I denounceth thee…
RS
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:23 pm

S/he has been waiting longer than a day to spring that list on someone, somewhere. I’m a Baptist and off the top of my head, I can give a list of “dirty,” nominally Baptist Progressives who are doing their part to destroy the country, to wit: Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Jimmy Carter. Oh, and they’re all Caucasians, too! Stop the presses!
concern00
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:27 pm

English is not the language of occupation.
Mrs. Obama to Press: Having Fun; Wish You Were Here. | Regular Right Guy
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:42 pm

[…] Malaysian Prime Minister Gives Press Conference in Perfect English […]
Art Deco
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:45 pm

I believe the correct proportions are 53% Malay, 40% Chinese (favoring south Chinese dialects), and 7% east Indian.
RS
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:48 pm

Of course, that’s true, and it also proves the point. A single national language, especially in place with multiple linguistic groups is something that builds unity; it is not a nefarious plot to dominate one group over the other.
Art Deco
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:50 pm

When you require English proficiency, you are setting a standard for someone to respect. That someone is a potential client of the Anointed. The object of the Anointed is to aggrandize itself against the Benighted. The Anointed fancy they set the standards. The patron-client relationship they construct with immigrants incorporates a reflexive antagonism to the sort of people who believe English proficiency should be required. Keep in mind, to assert a requirement of English proficiency is to assert the value of America as it is. The Anointed favor immigration to dilute the influence of the Benighted and aggrandize themselves by assuming a position as mediator and advocate for the immigrant population.
Pikachu
March 24th, 2014 @ 1:56 pm

Sorry, but the official language of Malaysia is “Malay”, not English.

Also, while they teach British English in their schools, the people there speak a much different version of English, which is known as “Manglish”.

Please get your fact right.
Rosalie
March 24th, 2014 @ 2:02 pm

I don’t watch either one – and from your description – I’m not missing a thing.
Rosalie
March 24th, 2014 @ 2:12 pm

Interesting. In CNN’s glory days, I remember a couple of journalists who were eventually canned, Daryn Kagan and Aaron Brown. I don’t know how Brown’s doing, but Kagan’s doing a lot better than CNN at this point. She dated Limbaugh when she was working for them. Maybe that’s why they got rid of her.
Adjoran
March 24th, 2014 @ 2:17 pm

Federal control of education for forty years will do that to ya.
Adjoran
March 24th, 2014 @ 2:19 pm

Half the time I need an interpreter to know what the hell the Prime Minister of UK is saying.

And about 80% of those times, I regret knowing.
ken_lov
March 24th, 2014 @ 5:02 pm

The (extremely-privileged, educated in UK) Prime Minister of (ex-British colony) Malaysia can speak English! Therefore all immigrants to the USA should have to learn English!!

Conservative powers of logical reasoning on display.
Quartermaster
March 24th, 2014 @ 6:10 pm

I would think that CNN is being kind and warning the Eurotrash of the plague that is descending on them. Mayhaps I’ve just got teh vapors.
Mike G.
March 24th, 2014 @ 6:56 pm

If I was going to move to a foreign country, say Germany or Italy, wouldn’t it behoove me to learn the language?

So by that logic, shouldn’t immigrants to America be required to learn our language?

It makes sense to me, but I reckon it’s asking to much, huh?
ken_lov
March 24th, 2014 @ 7:27 pm

Your argument stands or falls on its own merits. My comment was directed at the quite different and totally illogical argument in the OP.
Esther Williams
March 24th, 2014 @ 8:06 pm

Regardless, the war against Christianity and Christians being waged by the likes of Mikey Weinstein, Bill Maher, Mark Potok, and Arie Perligman is very well documented.

None are so blind as those who actively refuse to see, I suppose.
Esther Williams
March 24th, 2014 @ 8:11 pm

I’ve called attention to a number of individuals who are openly, actively, and obviously waging ideological warfare against the key ideas and core institutions of Western civilization and your first response is to whine about racism?

Not that I’m complaining – you’ve pretty much proven my original point.
Esther Williams
March 24th, 2014 @ 8:12 pm

I forgot to mention anti-Christian bigot Arie Perlinger in the original list; I’ve since corrected it.

Thanks for the reminder.
Bob Belvedere
March 24th, 2014 @ 8:13 pm

You too, huh?
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 4:02 pm

This isn’t a forum. It’s called a post or an article by the writer who operates the blog.

The logic you dismissed was your own.
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 4:03 pm

He sounds like the preacher in the background in that Mr. Bean bit where he’s in church.
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 4:06 pm

“Them datums” works real better.
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 4:08 pm

I was hoping to come up with that point, but failed to succinct-erize it like you did. So I didn’t.
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 4:11 pm

Transportation, in general. Seaways, waterways, international trucking, shipping, tracking.

And ‘Science’ is supposed to cover it, but I like to see Engineering peeled out, all separate like.
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 4:15 pm

I wish our politicians would learn to speak English.

This segues into a three-part series in which I’m in the middle, over at Scoop’s. I’d appreciate it if some of you yobs could come over and beat on it some. It’s a deep focus on the term “amnesty.” Just look for The Amnesty Papers” on the front page.
Quartermaster
March 25th, 2014 @ 4:32 pm

Science and Engineering are two sides of the same coin. They can’t really be separated.
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 5:21 pm

Yeah, but I’d rather do engineering than “science.” For one thing, you get to create more explosions.
Quartermaster
March 25th, 2014 @ 7:24 pm

I do lurves me some ‘Splodey!

My son took a demolition course in Engineering School even though he was in EE. He emailed me some building plans that he was having to use for a project and asked my advice on how I would approach the problem. Almost as fun as doing the splodey myself.
K-Bob
March 25th, 2014 @ 8:08 pm

I have a good friend who has done demo work since leaving the service (Master Sgt). I swear his work gets him more connections to concerts and stuff that you could ever imagine. Somehow being responsible for safety in structures ends up with him “working” while artists perform in old theaters, stadiums, and arenas. He’s never without work, and he’s totally in charge when he’s on scene. Even tells the suits to get the hell out.

That’s gotta be a great career.