Malaysian Govt Prepared To Consider Teaching Of Punjabi Language In Schools - DPM

KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government is prepared to consider the teaching of Punjabi language in schools if there is a request for it and that there are enough students for the lesson, said Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said if this was implemented, it would enable the Sikh young generation to master their mother tongue while the others too could learn the Punjabi language in line with the 1Malaysia spirit. "It is important for all of us to learn about other people in this country, because this will bind us together," he said in his speech when attending the Vasakhi open house at the Gudwara Sahib Sentul (a place of worships for Sikhs), here Friday. He spent about an hour mingling with the more than 200 members of the Sikh community who attended the open house. Also present were the Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing, Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, and the president of the Gudwara Sahib Sentul, Gurdiall Singh. At the function, Muhyiddin also announced an allocation of RM500,000 (US$1=RM3.07) for utilisation by the Gudwara Sahib Sentul, which is more than 100 years old. Muhyiddin said although the Sikh population in the country was small, the community played an important role in the country's development especially involving social and community development. "There are around 250,000 Sikhs in this country. The small number does not mean they don't play an important role in Malaysia's development. "We don't care about the number, what is important is that the Sikh community had contributed to the development of the country. This role is well played by the comunity and we want it to continue for more years to come," he said. He said it was important for the multi-racial community in the country to be united and live in peace and harmony so that the aspiration of 1Malaysia was achieved which would subsequently turn Malaysia into a developed nation by 2020. -- BERNAMA