KUALA LUMPUR, Students from vernacular schools, including Chinese independent secondary schools, are excelling in mastering the Malay language thanks to a range of government-backed initiatives aimed at boosting their skills. Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the government's efforts include encouraging schools to participate in the Student Forum Competition and the Language and Literary Festival. These initiatives are designed to foster proficiency in Malay among students from Chinese Independent Schools (SMPC), Chinese National-Type Schools (SJKC) and Tamil National-Type Schools (SJKT). Since its inception in 1992, Wong said the programme organised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) has seen increasing enthusiasm, adding that this year alone, 305 students participated in the forum competition, up from 295 last year. 'The Language and Literary Festival also saw record-breaking participation, with 645 students this year compared to 493 last year. 'This is the highest turnout ever, and we aim to keep up the momentum to provide students with ample opportunities to showcase their mastery of Malay,' Wong said at the closing ceremony of the National Student Forum Competition and Language and Literary Festival 2024 held at Wisma DBP. The event was attended by DBP Board chairman Datuk Dr Anwar Ridhwan, DBP director-general Dr Hazami Jahari, United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) vice-president Ngan Teng Ye, and Han Culture Centre of Malaysia president Datuk Goh Hin San. Source: BERNAMA News Agency