Language - The Essence and Identity of a Nation

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - A group of language experts, enthusiasts and activists from government and private agencies, societies as well as individuals at the roundtable conference on glorifying the Malay language held last April, had called for the establishment of a special Cabinet Committee on matters related to Bahasa Melayu.

The move is hoped to bring the government’s attention on any matters related to the national language apart from streamlining it with the relevant agencies that include the Education Ministry, Higher Education Ministry and local authorities (PBT).

At the function held to launch the National Language Month last Oct 5, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin called on the PBT to assist the government to enhance usage of the national language in public places.

They were told to enforce the by-laws and guidelines on advertising boards to ensure all advertisements and names of buildings and premises are in the national language.

Muhyiddin also called on all corporate leaders not to sideline the national language in their daily affairs.

"There should be emphasis on using the national language among the government-linked companies, financial and insurance institutions such as in official documents, signboards and forms," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister said after 53 years of the country’s independence, it is pertinent to ensure that the national language continues to be relevant in today’s world of business and trade.

The roundtable conference also touched on the emphasising of the use of Bahasa Melayu in official matters such as meetings and government affairs. These were to be included in a memorandum proposed to be submitted to Muhyiddin who is also the Education Minister.

The conference’s participants also called for words/phrases/sentences in other languages are only used ’with permission’ similar to the practice in Parliament.

Emphasis on Language in Schools

The conference also stressed on the effort in schools which means starting the practice of using the national language at the young age. This is apt as the organisers of the conference are the Education Ministry and National Institute of Translation (ITNM).

The participants also stressed on the need to place more importance and integrity for the national language. Among the proposed prerequisites is the elevation of the passing level in Bahasa Melayu subject in the open certificate system from that of ’pass’ (Grade E) to ’credit’ (Grade C).

Bahasa Melayu should be made a compulsory subject for Form Six students and the requirement of a pass in Bahasa Melayu for admission into the university should be elevated.

There are also concerns that the utilisation of Bahasa Melayu may depreciate with the advancement in ICT such as the SMS and Internet tools including Twitter and Facebook.

During the roundtable conference, an activist called for the oral test in Bahasa Melayu be made compulsory in schools apart from being part of the requirement for admission to universities.

Among the efforts to encourage the correct way of Bahasa Melayu in conversation is by organising activities for students. For example activities held in English can be switched to using Bahasa Melayu.

There should not be any embarassment in having this special day for Bahasa Melayu in schools and organise activities which include incorporating programmes that require conversation, poetry recital, competition and quiz apart from staging of dramas in the national language.

Compulsory

The Federation of National Writers Associations’ (Gapena) Head II, Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Latif said the Bahasa Melayu curriculum not only places importance on the oral test where the result is taken into account, but the credit pass of the subject is made compulsory in order for the candidates to be granted the certificate.

He said the Bahasa Melayu result should also be taken into account in the requirement for university admission apart from obtaining jobs both in the civil and private sectors.

The Principal Fellow at the Malay Civilisation and World Institute (Atma), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM,) Prof Dr Teo Kok Seong said it is a ’waste’ in making only a pass in Bahasa Melayu as the requirement for the examination pass as the non-Malay students tried hard to master the language.

Hence if the pass is upgraded to the credit level, then the ability in mastering the national language correctly would be the students’ priority, he said.

To make the effort in line with the 1Malaysia concept, the name of vernacular schools should be changed from the National (Type) to National and Bahasa Melayu is made the medium in schools and universities.

It should also be made compulsory for international students in universities to attend Bahasa Melayu classes, a similar requirement for international students abroad.

The roundtable conference also called for the Malay literature component in the Bahasa Melayu subject be made a core subject by itself, using quality materials for appreciation by students.

Teachers Qualification

A call was made for teachers to master Bahasa Melayu in order to part their knowledge well to students.

Hence, a good grade in the subject is also required in the admission requirement to teachers’ training colleges.

Those teaching Bahasa Melayu subject should specialise in Bahasa Melayu and should have mastery of the language apart from having good grasp in the Malay esthetics and culture. In this context, they should be accorded special privileges similar to that provided for teachers of Science and Mathematics subjects in English.

Their mastery of Bahasa Melayu should be enhanced via training programmes that are more effective. As for teachers of other subjects, they should be asked to use the national language well and give special consideration to the language when marking the answer scripts of examinations.

Definition of “Glorifying the Malay Language”

ITNM, in a statement on the rountable conference, clarified that the general meaning of the phrase ’glorifying the Malay language’ means giving a prestigious and honouable level to Bahasa Melayu among its native speakers as well as those in the region and globally.

A prestigious Bahasa Melayu is that with high economic standing, similar to that experienced by the English, French and Japanese languages.

In order to bring prestige to Bahasa Melayu, it needs to be a language that is able to shoulder various disciplines and knowledge apart from being in full utilisation in the country’s administration as well as the drafting of laws and regulations.

The language should be used in court proceedings and judicial sector, trade and economy, corporate sector, share market, medical and nursing fields and information communication technology as well as other sectors crucial to the nation’s progress and development in the global stage.

This year’s theme for the National Language month is ’1Language 1Race 1Nation’ which points to the objective of enhancing the Malay language with support from the community.

Muhyiddin had stressed that the enforcement of requlations without the commitment and willingness of the society to honour the national language would not bring success to the objective.

The mastering of Bahasa Melayu is a crucial component in ’love the nation’ spirit apart from enhancing the people’s unity through one language which brings more shine to the nation’s and society’s identity.

Source: http://www.bernama.com
Photo: http://melayuonline.com

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