Silliness of cracking the whip on using Malay

Every government seems to follow a pattern of making something out of a molehill, creating unnecessary debate and raising national ire.

The latest involves the use of Bahasa Malaysia. The Malay language is already the national language and the majority of Malaysians can read and write the Malay language.

In 2019, education minister Maszlee Malik of the Pakatan Harapan government tried to introduce khat into the school syllabus.

Maszlee argued that the teaching of khat in vernacular schools was merely a continuation of a policy already agreed upon by the previous government.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad suggested that the idea should not have been pushed through. He said that during his stint in power, Umno had never tried to “force” MCA to accept Jawi in vernacular schools.

The khat issue created endless debate with racial overtones and a lot of time-wasting that eventually ended with a watered-down version of the original proposal.

The current Malay language issue seems to be stoking the same sentiments.

It all started in February when Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said government officials must only use Bahasa Malaysia when speaking at conferences and other engagements abroad. He said speaking in Bahasa Malaysia should not be an issue because there were modern gadgets to translate languages in real-time without delay. No issue here.

In May, Ismail escalated his proposal to make Bahasa Melayu Asean’s lingua franca, saying the Malay language had its own uniqueness and advantages.

When he spoke, Ismail was not aware of the feelings of our neighbouring country Indonesia. Indonesia’s minister of education, culture, research and technology, Nadiem Makarim, rejected Ismail proposal that Bahasa Melayu be used as Asean’s official language.

The two countries with similar languages should avoid another “konfrontasi”.

The language controversy has now been elevated to a new level in the country.

The chief secretary to the government Zuki Ali has called on the Public Service Department to consider punitive measures in enforcing the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the civil service. Zuki said the corrective and punitive action, apart from reprimands based on language audits, was not intended to intimidate, but rather to ensure that Bahasa Malaysia was not used arbitrarily.

Punitive measures to enforce Bahasa Malaysia in the civil service and government-related agencies will cause Malaysia to lose out, says the G25 group.

G25 is of the opinion that there are many areas in which civil servants may have to communicate in English to reach a common understanding on issues and problems as they arise.

The group supports the importance of Bahasa Malaysia in creating a united nation between the various ethnic communities that form the country, but it notes the reality on the ground that there must also be recognition of the importance of English as the language of the international community in many aspects of daily life.

East Malaysians dislike the term Bahasa Melayu, preferring to call the national language Bahasa Malaysia as Melayu denotes Malay dominance over Sabah and Sarawak.

Mincing no words, Abdul Karim Hamzah, the Sarawak state tourism minister, said civil servants should be encouraged to use “good English” instead of being penalised.He slammed the proposal for punitive action to enforce the use of Malay in the civil service, calling it “silly and stupid”.

The Borneo states have always tried to retain the English language as their main language for everyday dealings as they see the value of the language in international terms.

In the 20 points agreement on Sabah’s conditions to form Malaysia, language was point No.2: “While Malay should be the national language of the Federation. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day and English should be an official language of North Borneo (now Sabah) for all purposes, state or federal, without limitation of time”.

The federal government should recognise the right of Sabah and Sarawak to their choice of language for official dealings. The chief minister of Sarawak is now the premier (in English) of Sarawak and not “Ketua Menteri”.

To overcome the issue of language, the Sarawak government announced (through Yayasan Sarawak) that it would create several international secondary schools in strategic locations in the state to provide the education which, it seems, Malaysia is incapable of providing, given the “flip flops” in educational policies over the years.

In making the decision Premier Abang Johari said the Sarawak government had considered factors such as the responsibility of the state to protect its rights with regard to its education policies as stated in the 1962 Inter-Governmental Committee Report.

The IGC Report says that “although education…will be a federal subject, the present policy and system of administration of education in North Borneo and Sarawak should be undisturbed and remain under the control of the government of the state until that government otherwise agrees”.

Darell Leiking, an MP and former international trade and industry minister, has called for Sabah and its civil service to be left out of this “strange” Bahasa Malaysia policy of using punitive measures to “enforce” the use of Malay in the civil service.

In all fairness, language is a matter of choice and comfort; it should not be punitive. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMktT.