The Real Argument in the English vs BM debate

The truth is we are a very small country with a tiny population struggling to compete in an increasingly competitive global environment. Low-end manufacturing is no longer an option for us because we cannot provide the kind of cheap labor that makes it competitive. And we will soon run out of minerals and resources that we can dig out of the ground and sell.

That leaves Malaysia with only one option to be successful in the future and that is in services, particularly higher-end services and higher-end manufacturing as in software. These industries require constant cooperation and engagement with the outside world. An outside world that overwhelmingly communicates in English.

In the midst of all this we are faced with a national argument over the language in which children should be educated in Science and Math.

Malay is still a young language

Malay is a comparatively young language. It lacks the long literary history of western languages and some select eastern languages. The curbs on artistic freedom by the BN government has been to the detriment of the Malay language. The BN government is also fond of banning books which is critical of it. In such repressed environments, artistic talents are bound to wither. Why write if you can’t say what you want?

Malay, therefore, remains a language with a more limited vocabulary as compared to English. Taking English words and adding an ‘i’ is not an ideal solution when you have to do it with too many words, any more than making up outlandish sounding words is. Languages evolve, and cannot be invented like Morse code or Fortran.

Not of course, that English is a perfect language. French is far more beautiful, written and spoken. But English is superbly functional. It does not, for example, assign genders to tables and cars and trees, a superfluous affliction of many languages including Russian, French and Hindi. No, English provides you just what you need and no more.

Malay as a medium of technical instruction is constrained by the fact that the Malays traditionally relied on agriculture and fishing for their livelihoods. There was little need for technical research in such an environment. The average Malay would tend to his field, practice his religion and care for his family. Adventurers were few and scientists scarce. The industrial revolution left then Malaya untouched, other than as a market for western produced goods.

Recognize limitations

Scientific subjects are in a constant state of being globally researched and added to. It is an almost impossible challenge just to keep up with what is going on in any field to any degree of depth. Add the challenge of creating new words to describe the already difficult subject of say, quantum mechanics, and you run the risk of producing confused, rather than productive, graduates.

The Periodic Table itself highlights the dangers of arbitrary translations. Sodium is Natrium, because its symbol is Na, one supposes. And Potassium is Kalium because its symbol is a K. Precisely what is the point of this mixing up of Latin and English? Is there any need to rename the elements?It cannot be denied that the higher the level to which one studies, the more you will have to understand Science and Math in English. By teaching the students these subjects in Malay now, we are merely adding another barrier to the future education of today’s children.

Malaysia simply does not have the population size or industries that will enable us to pump huge investments into scientific research. And why would foreign companies set up research facilities in a country where nobody understands English? It is a vicious circle and it really is time we recognize our limitations.

In a nutshell, we will end up a backward nation

Malay nationalists and activists are of course always worried that Malay as a language will somehow become defunct and superseded by some other language. But the Malay language is hardly going to disappear when every other subject including history and geography is taught in Malay.

Yet this issue has now become political, and as the majority of voters in Malaysia are Malays, it became almost inevitable that Malay would win the day in this argument. It was too easy for partisan NGOs to hijack this issue and make it an emotional one.

In fact, it is not an issue of language against language. Nor is it an issue of Malaysia’s internal politics. It is really an issue of Malaysia’s competitiveness against the external environment.

If we make this switch, it is likely to lead to a detriment in the standards of our Science & Math education, and the quality of our graduates. And that will make us a less competitive nation.

Less competitive nations are poorer nations. And poorer nations are weaker nations which will end up being dominated by stronger ones, including stronger neighbors. And that, simplistic as it sounds, is the more real threat to Malaysia.

Malaysia Chronicle