Time and again, we see embarrassing notices in poor English appear, putting the country in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, particularly when such incidents go viral.
The “bunting incident” at the Kota Bharu’s Sultan Ismail Petra Airport was still fresh on the people’s minds when another notice in English riddled with mistakes at the Ipoh Tourist Information Centre appeared. Both incidents have brought more shame to the country.
To limit collateral damage, the management involved normally hauled up the staff responsible and punished them accordingly. The case is then closed. The ones who ended up as scapegoats are the employees concerned.
However, such problems run deeper than meets the eye. In many cases, the key management or gatekeepers are also guilty because, due to their poor command of the language, they allowed the laughable notices to slip through their eyes to be put on public display. They should be held accountable as well.
The poor usage of English is reflective of a larger problem plaguing our education system. Surely students can’t be more knowledgeable than their teachers, who often also lack a good command of the language.
The authorities should ensure teachers and trainers are up to par in English usage. Otherwise, we need to brace for more of such embarrassing notices, and continue to be a laughing stock.
Though there is no quick fix, the rot should stop now by having more qualified English language teachers. If not, our future generations will have to clean up the mess we are making today.
