Language is the soul of a nation. Despite the racial and cultural diversity, a national language is believed to help create a bond and national unity.
Stepping into the 53rd year of independence, yet continuing debates manifest that Malaysian national identity remains clouded. In Malaysia, we have Bahasa Malaysia as our national language. As the national language, it is the language of the peoples of Malaysia and functions as a national symbol. It applies to the entire nation and its nationalities.
At the same time, the citizens also have the opportunity to learn other languages such as English, Mandarin and Tamil in the schools. Comparing with our neighboring countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, Malaysians are much luckier as we get the chance to learn additional languages in the schools.
Almost every ethnic group in Malaysia speaks more than one language, leading to a fascinating amount of linguistic diversity. And this is precisely one of the reasons of why many foreigners are amazed with us.
The fate of national language
Here is the general perception for many to our national language –- there is no need to have a good command of Bahasa Malaysia as long as we pass the exam with credits because in the working environment, we will only need English. It is also apprehended that the Bahasa has limited economic and commercial value which indirectly brings to a significant lack in sense of belonging and the pride to the national language.
Bahasa is not being look upon in a respectable level as we can see from the media for example through the Malay dramas particularly. It is very rare to have the chance to watch a ‘pure’ and ‘original’ drama using the proper Bahasa Malaysia nowadays because it is all mixed up with English. It sounds something like this – “I nak jumpa you tonight. You free tak?” I believe this dialogue must sounds very familiar to you.
The connotation is that when the actor or actress uses English in their dialogue, he or she is seen coming from a middle-class or higher, otherwise working in the corporate world. It is indeed very sad that many Malaysians look down at their own national language and treat it as a level lower than the commercially-used English.
One of the main reasons is merely to attract more viewers and to gain a higher rating. If a drama is mix with the English, it is seen as a higher quality production. It is perceived that such usage indicates modernization. However if the dialogue is being conduct in full Bahasa, it is seen as ‘kampungan’.
This troubling situation also could be noticed in local films, radio shows and entertainment shows. So imagine the target group that actually being instilled with this type of mindset?
On the other hand, there are also limited websites that use Bahasa Malaysia as the main medium of presentation. If this being let to continue, in another 10 years’ time, it is not surprising that Malaysians will be more fluent in English and not Bahasa.
Our responsibility
We should not feel ashamed of our national language. Take a peep at the Philippines, majority of the Filipina have no problem to converse in their own national language — Tagalog but at the same time they are also one of the nations in the world that has a big population that command the English. They juggle both languages pretty well.
Just look around, many parents send their kids to English classes but there is hardly anyone who actually sends their kids to Bahasa Malaysia classes. Bahasa has never been a cause for our children’s poor command of the English. This language ‘crisis’ has haunted us for a long time and it is the nick of time that Bahasa be conferred with the distinguished linguistic honor all Malaysians can bestow on it.
In order to enhance awareness of the importance of Bahasa Malaysia as a toll of unity, the Malaysian government has declared that October each year will be National Language Month. State governments and government agencies have been directed to implement programmes for National Language Month throughout October.
It is a sharing responsibility of all Malaysians to uphold the value of the national language, and not merely the government. The citizens have to realize that Bahasa Malaysia has a major role in fostering socialization and creating national unity.
It is not that English language is not necessary for the country; it is just that we must at the same time master and respect our own national language. It is although crucial to master the English, but it is far more important of not forgetting our own national language.
Malay language will not disappear, but it risks losing its originality. Without a common language in a country, there will be no unity.
Comments
I agree with you on the ‘Malay dramas’. How about dubbed cartoons for a change? I’m currently looking for a job as a translator for dubbing cartoons, particularly from English.
In other countries, all English-language cartoons are dubbed, save for a number of language-teaching ones like Dora. And I cannot see how this has stopped many kids from knowing the importance of the English language. Perhaps this should be the theme of a follow-up post for your blog.