From the storied halls of the Malay College of Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) in Perak to the corridors of power in Putrajaya, Anwar Ibrahim has dedicated himself to uplifting Bahasa Melayu, said PKR central committee member Fahmi Zainol.
In schooling former DAP lawmaker Ong Kian Ming over his “shallow remarks which appeared to belittle the prime minister’s efforts”, he also recalled how as a student leader, the Pakatan Harapan chairperson had staged a protest where he painted over signboards which used the English language.
Urging Ong to familiarise himself with Anwar’s endeavours in this department, he said: “Since his schooldays in MCKK, he was active in the Persatuan Bahasa Melayu.
“During his tertiary education, he was the acting president of the Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya,” he added.
Fahmi (above) also defended Anwar’s criticism of certain “elite groups” for their obsession with the English language, which has led them to underestimate the importance of the national language.
The PKR leader said this “reflected the reality” of the situation in this country, and the prime minister wanted to arrest the decline.
Yesterday, Ong advised Anwar to focus on the positive instead of the negative narratives to encourage the use of Bahasa Melayu.
According to Ong, focusing on the positive would encourage and incentivise others to use BM because it is in their interest to reach the wider BM-speaking community, not because it is being forced on them.
Anwar’s ‘relentless’ efforts
Adding further, Fahmi, who is a Penang state exco member, called Ong not to be rigid in his views and urged the DAP leader to get to know Anwar.
He listed several of Anwar's "relentless" efforts in fighting for BM from his student and activism days up to when he was a cabinet member.
"Anwar had introduced many pro-Malay policies into the national school syllabus when he was the education minister.
"One of the major changes he made was renaming the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu.
"Anwar's efforts towards elevating the status of BM cannot be denied. The person who should be schooled here is not Anwar, but Ong himself," Fahmi said. - Mkini
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