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By Mansor Puteh I hate to say this. This is a psychological issue, not an emotional one. And in this regard I want to ask where are our psychologists? Are they still sleeping? If the psychologists have been sleeping and experiencing a mid-life crises of their own, I want them to wake up and shake it off and offer your ‘expert’ views or else I will make the attempt to analyze what’s really wrong with the country.
I had studied psychology and even sociology way back at college in Shah Alam and it can still be handy. Yes, one does not have to be specialized in these areas to know what’s really wrong with the country and some people. Maybe the psychologists that we have need to be put on the couch and be asked a few questions of the type that they often ask their patients. My first question is: What do you think of the Bahasa Melayu/mother-tongue issue with regard to the study of science and mathematics? No answer? If that’s the case, I have some. And here they are: This issue is really nothing more than the expression that has so far been suppressed by the actors, who do not dare say that they hate Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia. And they are using science and mathematics to express this hatred. Why can’t they just admit it and be done with it, and bear the consequences? I am sure there are equally many sane and insane opinions to support the use of Bahasa Melayu for the study of these two subjects in the primary and secondary school as there are those who do not support its use. And if one were to consider the study of history, geography and the other subjects students in such schools are asked to take, and see which language is best for them to study these subjects, chances are some will also insist that it is English and not Bahasa Melayu. So in the end, all the subjects in primary and secondary schools will be taught in English since there is always a justification to using this language instead of Bahasa Melayu, especially if the real and hidden reason for them to prefer English over Malay is because they hate Bahasa Melayu and the Malays, but are scared to admit it. And it will go on and on. But the scientists in China studied everything in Mandarin and yet they were still able to develop their space programs and successfully sent their ‘taikonauts’ to outer space without hitching a ride on space crafts produced by the Russians or Americans. They did all of that in Mandarin and nothing in English. They could have made is mandatory for their ‘taikonauts’ wannabes to study in English, but they didn’t. The reason being, they wanted to develop their own space programs by using their own national language while we in Malaysia also want to do the same and also to develop the country by taking the easy way out, by using English and whatever terms that the English and English-speaking people all over the world could come up with, without the need to think hard and come up with our own terms. So in the end, we are copycats with nothing original to be proud of. This means that we do not aspire to acquire knowledge, but to borrow those that were introduced by the west (read America), and in the end the process of learning for Malaysia is restricted, and because of that we will lack creativity and originality. The Japanese, too, had embarked on their space programs as much as the Iranians, but they are doing it their way. They sent their students to prestigious universities in America such as MIT where they study in English, and when they return home, they enlarge their scientific vocabulary. Here, our sole ‘angkasawan’ wants to have everything easy. He has so far not yet introduced a term in Malay that we can use. He is a copycat astronaut. But the truth is that for those who insist on using English for the teaching of science and mathematic may not realize that what they are saying, if we can study the problem psychologically, is that they do hate Bahasa Melayu, but are not able to say so. Most of them are not Malays, but there are also some who are indeed Malays. And they are also like the sole Malaysian ‘angkasawan’ who wants to take it easy and be copycat academics, scientists or doctorate holders with nothing new or original to contribute to the society, and especially to the expansion of the Malay vocabulary. This is the truth. And I am bearing it after I have put the ‘patients’ on the couch for a while. And some of those who are now attending the roundtable discussion on this issue at Putrajaya are also those people who hate Bahasa Melayu and even the Melayu, but they won’t dare say so. How could anyone say they HATE BAHASA MELAYU and the MELAYU? But they can say so indirectly, hoping that no psychologist in the country would be able to analyze their thoughts and feelings. Yes, no psychologist in Malaysia is able to do it, but I CAN. And I am saying it NOW! So I hope those who hate Bahasa Melayu and the Melayu, please find other ways to express your feelings about it, without saying that English is the best language for the teaching of science and mathematics. But this would be difficult indeed. Like you can also hate Malay films, Malay television dramas and entertainment programs and a host of other things choosing instead those from Hollywood, Hong Kong, India and other countries, as long as they are not from the Malays. Yes, the convenient excuse is that these Malay films, television dramas and music are of poor quality. Good excuses, too, I dare say. (I HATE IT FOR BEING ABLE TO READ PEOPLE'S MINDS!)
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. English is a global language along with Spanish, french, etc (think colonies, hence the language) China was locked out from the rest of the world for nearly 40 years by Mao then Deng; hence they had to learn everything in Mandarin, copy & translate whatever they don have from the original language into mandarin. Same applies to the Russians/USSR years! I had lots of Malay friends with whom I've lost touch (more of personal character rather than choice, I don network not maintain contacts well) and so did my parents (most of their friends have passed away). In fact, I think I understood BM or at least colloqial BM better than I did english as a child. Sure, Anwar had said, during in his tenure as Ed Minister, that BM was used by half the world during Hang Tuah's time (where is he anyway in our history books?). What he probably negelected to say was it was only used by the sea faring traders to and from Melaka. The Mainland Chinese, Arabs and other ancient trading countries can and probably should stake a similar claim! Hang Tuah & gang might be chinese but they put their lives on the line and gave their services to the Sultan/s of their time!
