International Students Appreciate the Malay Language

Putrajaya, Malaysia - Ali Haidar is an Iraqi, and introduces himself in Malay, saying," Selamat Pagi. Nama saya Ali Haidar. Saya dari Baghdad, Iraq. Saya ada dua adik perempuan, dua adik lelaki."

(Good morning. My name is Ali Haidar. I'm from Baghdad, Iraq. I have two younger sisters and two younger brothers).

Ali, 21, is among the many international students who have learnt Malay. Ali learnt the language from scratch, after arriving in Malaysia in 2009 to pursue a degree in Information Technology (IT) at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten).

Remarkably, the former Al Kwarzme High School student from Baghdad knew no English either, and had to take lessons in it as well, for a semester.

At Uniten, Malay is a compulsory subject. Ali took Malay lessons for one semester and earned an A grade.

"I can understand and speak. It is not difficult, because I like to learn the language.

"It is easy for an Arab to learn Malay as there are 1,000 Arab terms in the Malay language," said Ali, when interviewed by the writer.

"When I spoke using the word 'aku' in class, the teacher corrected me," he said with a grin.

Ali, a self-sponsored student, says he has also made many Malay friends.

"During holidays, I follow my Malaysian friends back to their hometowns. I have been to Terengganu, Melaka, Kelantan, Johor Baharu, Kuala Perlis, Langkawi and Penang. The food I really like in Kelantan is the 'budu'.

"International students with Malaysian friends find it easier to learn the language. If you have lots of Malay friends, then you can easily pick up the language," Ali said to Bernama at the Uniten campus in Putrajaya, recently.

Ali said there were many advantages of speaking Malay. "If you speak in Malay at the wholesale or night market, you are going to get lower prices," he said with a laugh.

Interested in the Language

Initially, international students are taught to introduce themselves in Malay, with greetings such as Selamat Pagi (Good Morning), Selamat Malam (Good Night), Selamat Tinggal and Selamat Jalan (Good Bye).

Although they have completed their Malay lessons, Omar and other international students are keen to learn further.

Omar continues his quest to learn the language by befriending Malay students, and even accompanying Ali to Kelantan.

He also enjoys taking a break in Penang. "My father has a friend in Penang. My hometown now is in Penang," he joked.

Dee carries a Malay dictionary with him wherever he goes. He finds it useful when he is in cafeterias and restaurants, or when using taxi services.

He has also downloaded software to carry out English-to-Malay translations, on his cellular phone.

Dee, who is pursuing a degree in electrical and electronics engineering, has earmarked Mondays as a 'Malay Language Day', even if all he does is shout out greetings such as "Selamat Pagi" or "Jumpa Lagi" (Meet Again) to whoever he comes across.

Much Easier

Meanwhile, Abdoulaye, who can speak French, Arab and Urdu, can understand Malay if it is spoken slowly.

"I like to learn Malay and speak the language. But studying the language for one semester is not enough," said Abdoulaye, also a self-sponsored student.

Abdoulaye, who arrived in Malaysia in 2009, initially enrolled with International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He later switched to Uniten, since IIUM does not offer courses in civil engineering.

He, too, plans to accompany his Malaysian friends back to their hometowns, to learn the language further. He is aware that it is difficult to move about, eat or shop without knowing the local language.

During his visit to Langkawi last semester break, Abdoulaye also observed that it is easier to approach locals when speaking in Malay.

"If we meet again next year.. I will be more fluent in Malay," said Abdoulaye to the writer.

Source: http://www.bernama.com.
Photo: http://e-kata.com.

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