KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — The Finance Ministry has started an initiative to provide free English language lessons to Malaysians in both rural and urban areas.  

Local daily The Star reported Finance Ministry director Dr Aminuddin Hassim as saying that the ministry’s Bahasa Inggeris 1Malaysia (BI1M) programme was decided upon after discovering, through a series of roadshows, that several Malaysian entrepreneurs encountered difficulties due to their lack of proficiency in the world’s lingua franca.

"Some people still can't enjoy the development (in many fields) due to their lack of English skills," Aminuddin was quoted as saying at the launch of the programme yesterday.

Aminuddin said his ministry wanted Malaysian entrepreneurs to have a better grasp of the language so that they can contribute back to the community through their businesses.

“They can sell their products (better) if they can communicate with tourists and customers in English,” he was quoted as saying

According to the news report, Aminuddin said 17 locations around the country have been identified as centres for the English classes.

The classes, he said, will be located at Urban Transformation Centres and Rural Transformation Centres to provide easy accessibility.