The Critical Stage of Bahasa Melayu

Today is March 7, 2009. A critical stage to the usage of Bahasa Melayu in Malaysia. According to pre-survey, about more than 100,000 Malaysians will march to the Istana Negara to submit memorandum not to use "PPMSI."

Yeah, I feel ashamed of when found out that 20% marks in Mathematic or Science able to pass in the UPSR and PMR examinations for the past few years. If disbelieved, we could test the students again who scored A's in Mathematic or Science whether they really deserved the A’s!

Look, some students, and also their parents startled when the students got A's in these subjects, which before they just passed in the papers during trial tests/examinations. Huh! Ironically then, the Ministry of Education would say the programs/implementations have been successful, where 'passing rates are increasing from year to year.' Please lah, we are no more naive ok? Now most of us are more educated and globally opened, in some circumstances are even more educated than some of the personnel in the Education Ministry and the Cabinet's members themselves.

Let us checking back history when the medium of English was imposed until end of 1970's at the school secondary levels. The number of Malays students at the faculties of Engineering, Economics, Medicine, Laws reached not even 10%. Only through BM than their numbers increased around 40% to 80%.

Many Malays now who are medical practitioner, legal, engineering, accounting, and dentistry were mostly educated in Bahasa Melayu during their secondary schools' days. But when they growing up, their English proficiency and fluency automatically progress through their readings and business dealings then.

Once I was the uncontested President of PTA of a government school in Ampang for two years (2006-2008). I have to discontinue the post because my children no more study there. But my 3rd child will be there in 2010 which qualify me back to hold the post if I wanted to.

In 2006, one fine morning during school assembly I gave a speech to the school citizens which has about 151 teachers mostly females and 2,100 students morning and evening sessions.

I said, "Why must we so obsess and look too high at English? The Britons in the United Kingdom are laughing at us of still bowing to their inheritance.

"That means yet we are not independent in the truly sense, where and why we every year at 31st August claim/celebrate that we are already independent. If we claimed we already/really independent, sorry to say, in my personal opinion this celebration should not be remembered at all! When we remember it, we will remember that we were former subjects of the British Empire! Why should we remember that?

Now, what we must do is to be really and fully efficient in English without sacrificing the Bahasa Melayu. I agree to use English as a tool to progress and develop in certain but not all fields. As Malaysian, as stated in the Federal Constitution, preference should be given to Bahasa Melayu. A Malay proverb has said, "Hilang Bahasa Hilanglah Bangsa." Bila bahasa sudah hilang, maka hilanglah bangsa! (When the language is vanished, the race is also going to diminish soon, too!).

Remember, the Japanese, the Germans, the French, the Russians and many others use their mother tongue languages, yet able to produce better products/services than produced by the Britons themselves. Further, if we want to study there, we must be competent in their languages first, and then only can enroll at their universities/colleges.

March 6, 2009 8:56 PM