LETTERS: I speak, read, write and dream in English. Those words were displayed on the dashboard of my budget taxi that I drove between 2004 and 2010 to assure foreigners that I was conversant in English.
It is common for Malaysians who have attended English primary and secondary schools to speak English, even among family members and relatives.
Throughout my 56-year career, written communication was in English, starting in the motor industry, then as an insurance agent, tourist guide, tour operations, vehicle maintenance, travel services, car rental, management, consultancy and training services.
By listening to English news and reading international magazines and Malaysian newspapers, I kept abreast of global and local affairs.
Much of my adult life was exposed to the Western media, often swallowing them hook, line and sinker. But this started to change some 20 years ago following the lies about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, leading to the United States invasion of that country.
Since then, I have chosen not to believe or disbelieve anything I read, hear or see.
Competence in English has empowered me to learn fast and have access to a vast amount of information online.
But it is a double-edged sword, as most are inaccurate, biased opinions, misinformation or disinformation.
The challenge now is to further adapt ourselves as the future will be largely shaped by artificial intelligence.
Young or old, we must embrace and adapt to the rapid changes affecting our lives or become functionally obsolete.
Y.S. CHAN
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
