The social bond called Bahasa Malaysia
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abd Razak
Learning Curve : Perspective
New Sunday Times - 29-05-2011
THE op-ed piece, "No Bonding Without Common Language", by Farish A. Noor in New Straits Times on May 19 could not have come at a better time.
This is in respect to a survey by one of the local papers to get an idea of the number of Malaysians who speak the national language, Bahasa Malaysia.
Farish wrote: “It was startling, though not quite, to discover that more than half a century after this nation's independence, there remain significant sections of Malaysian society where the national language is not spoken at all, or even deemed necessary.”
His succinct argument hits the nail on the head when he pointed out: “The problem for Malaysia, however, is that for a long time linguistic diversity has been elevated to the status of a near-sacred taboo that cannot be touched.”
Recently, I met a Malaysian who was raised in neighbouring Thailand from an early age.
He went to a Thai school and immersed himself in the local community.
No wonder when I was introduced to him at a meeting in China, I could not tell he is a Malaysian.
From his crew cut to his mannerisms in speaking and intonation, he looks and behaves like a Thai.
He speaks Thai fluently, and speaks English like a Thai!
Despite being of Chinese decent, he could not speak Mandarin.
And his command of Bahasa Malaysia did not go beyond the usual words of common courtesy.
Why did a “Malaysian” or a person of Malaysian origin staying in Thailand embrace so much of his new-found nation?
Thai is not an international language.
In fact, the number of people speaking Bahasa Malaysia vis-a-vis Thai is much higher!
So it is not just a question of numbers and being international, as we tend to argue.
Indeed, in this case, he is also fluent in English.
Another recent case I encountered was while on transit at Amsterdam’s Schipol airport.
There is an Indonesian food outlet called Toko Togo (to go) at the arrival concourse.
Being away from home, I decided to sample the food with several local sounding names, but in Bahasa Indonesia.
While I was enjoying my delicious meal, a woman who looked Chinese but could be of any nationality (including a Malaysian) entered the restaurant.
I expected her to make her order in English, if not Dutch, like all the others before her.
But she ordered her food in what sounded like fluent Bahasa Indonesia.
The person who was attending to her understood her as he was Indonesian, going by the name tag.
What is more surprising is that the woman asked me for help to open a bottled drink in good English.
She could have ordered her food in English too, but chose to do so in Bahasa Indonesia, presumably her native tongue.
Again, it raises the question why she spoke in Bahasa Indonesia.
English could have done just fine.
After all, it was just a meal order, not an elaborate conversation where the use of English could be daunting!
This is where Farish’s argument is most relevant about the use of a common language as a “glue” that keeps social cohesion intact for any respected citizen of a nation.
And this is not happening in Malaysia despite more than 50 years of independence.
To all intents and purposes, Bahasa Malaysia is the national language as enshrined in the Constitution.
And all worthy citizens must be fluent in it, regardless of any other language they chose to learn.
Several European nations, notably Germany and France, are insisting that even “migrants” must be able to speak their national language, let alone those who are citizens.
Can we demand the same of Malaysians without turning it into a political issue?
Could it be that the Germans, French, Thais and Indonesians are more assured, if not uncompromising, in this area because they believe in the integrity and sovereignty of their nationhood?
I am more convinced of this after observing what took place last week in Tanzania, which is struggling to achieve middle income nation status but places Kiswahili as the national lingua franca amid more than 10 other languages of the various ethnic groups in the country.
Why, then, must Bahasa Malaysia be any different in its own nation unless it is just lip service?
Or have we been too compromising for too long?
* The writer is the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. He can be contacted at vc@usm.my