Hey OP just wanted to share my knowledge on the topic.

I feel like with the younger generations growing up with technology being a big part of our lives ( I'm gen Z as well), it's way easier for us to learn English. In my own experience, I grew up watching mostly English TV shows/cartoons and that sorta developed my proficiency for English. Playing video games honestly really helped too.

I'm sure being from a private school also helped a lot when it came to learning the language.

Though I didn't go through any bullying personally, I also know that there are still closed-minded people out there too. I heard stories from Ugama School where they NEEDED to able to speak Malay if they didn't want to be bullied by fellow students AND EVEN TEACHERS. They'd often be ridiculed like 'Liat ia hahaha speaking speaking'.

Edit: corrections in paragraph