Language for unity or uniformity?

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Language for unity or uniformity?

SK Wong
Apr 5, 06 3:21pm

I refer to the letter by Saad Hashim Toyota salesmen and the national
language. First of all, how could he generalise that 7-Eleven workers are
low achievers? Many students work in fast food restaurants and convenience
stores during holidays. Some work after school hours to make ends meet
(now that the fuel price have gone up again). Furthermore, how could he
make such a sweeping statement that the Chinese workers of the same
caliber as their Malay counterparts receive better treatment? Isn't he
contributing to the stereotypes himself?

He laments that the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, is not used as the
only language of conversation among all Malaysians regardless of race. He
puts the blame of national disunity on the failure of our government to
cajole the non-Malays to speak only in Bahasa Malaysia. Frankly, I rather
like the Malay language. I have yet to find a better word than "merepek"
to describe the utterances of our politicians. The government cannot be
blamed for not trying to promote the usage of Bahasa Malaysia at the
expense of other languages, notably English. Any Malaysian today can speak
and understand the national language without difficulty, but many can
hardly string a simple sentence in English.  Realising their mistake, the
government is backpedaling. Is Saad Halim suggesting the government revert
to the old education policy?

The government is always touting our multi-cultural society as a selling
point in promoting the tourism industry. Wouldn't forcing everybody to
speak only the national language be counter productive? He cites the
example of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines where the Chinese in
those countries speak only the national language as a model for our
country. I find his reasoning perplexing. How does he define unity? Is he
equating speaking the same language with unity? I can give a couple of
counter examples. The Malays are certainly not a monolithic unit despite
speaking the same language. The Indonesian Chinese speak Bahasa Indonesia
as their first language yet they are the ones who were targeted in racial
riots. He seems to confuse unity with uniformity.

Any Malaysian can carry a conversation in Bahasa Malaysia if they need to.
Why bother if they prefer to speak their mother tongue with members of
their own race? Not speaking the same language did not stop them from
uniting in support for the establishment of the Independent Police
Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) or in protest against fuel
price hike. If he is so concerned with the declining usage of the national
language, why didn't he write in Bahasa Malaysia? His letter is full of
hyperbole - just because some Chinese speak Cantonese at a mamak stall,
does that make it the de facto official language of Malaysia? Please, stop
making a mountain out of a mole hill. What is he driving at? Stir up
another misguided Umno Youth witch-hunt?

Stop beating around the bush and stop blaming the vernacular schools,
newspapers and what not. We all know the real reasons for disunity.
Non-Malays have been systematically alienated by their own government in
every aspect of life. Plenty has been said or written on these web pages.
I don't wish to repeat them here like a broken record. Saad Hashim, read
the archives and keep your five cents.

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http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/49350