Datuk Seri Najib Razak speaks at the Cultural Congress 2017 held at Dewan Canselor Tun Abdul Razak in UKM, Bangi April 15, 2017. ― Picture by Saw Siow Feng

BANGI, April 15 ― All races in the country especially the younger generation should be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

“The new generation, be it Indian or Chinese, speak our national language well,” Najib said during the National Culture Congress and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) here.

He said that students from vernacular school systems should also be able to converse well in the national language.

“Even if they are from a Chinese or Indian vernacular school they should be able to speak Malay well,” he said.

“This is our language of unity,” he added.

The congress' resolution, read by Putrajaya's socio-cultural adviser Tan Sri Rais Yatim, also urged for the Dual Language Programme (DLP) to give more priority to the national language compared to English.