Malaysian Through & Through
Mandarin and Tamil are soon to be offered as formal, non-compulsory subjects in all national primary schools. Another one of Badawi's cekap moves. Read The Star's scoop on it.
I've always been really proud to be Malaysian. But what really sets us apart? What makes us uniquely Malaysian?
Is it our Manglish, the way we so tastefully and skillfully incorporate curses of at least two languages into our speech? No; Singaporeans & Bruneians speak English in almost identical ways. Is it our ability to speak Malay? No; Indonesians & Bruneians speak Malay (albeit slightly differently, but still..).
No. Tidak.
It is us being able to converse in a minimum of three languages/dialects each. Malay, English, Tamil, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka.. I'm sure that every single one of us can speak/understand at least three of the aforementioned.
Being able to curse in any one of them counts too.
Sipek cool don't you think, when the Malays start going off in Mandarin/the Chinese bitch in Tamil/the Indians speak Cantonese? I've always wanted to be able to speak Tamil fluently. My mastery of the language is limited to "Machaa.. Teh Ais Oo Nerr.." and "Deii.. Sareke Jo Karake!"
Trilinguality and beyond comes with limitless benefits. We're able to connect/communicate with a far wider audience. Service is quicker/with a wider smile in restaurants. The examples are countless, but I'm sure you've enjoyed many of the perks that come with being Malaysian.
If you're not Malaysian, fret not. Nobody's perfect.
Being a national of a country that has not one single racial identity, a country that is so bloody diverse it boggles the mind at times, it is important that we not forget our roots. Roots meaning the really really deep ones. China, India.. wherever else.
For many of us, the ability to speak and/or understand our mother tongue is our only connection left to our motherland.
A short shout-out to my ancestors from Fu Jian; Mien kia, wa ko eh hiao kong Hokkien uwa! Malaysian bo Malaysian, wa ko eh ki lu lang!
This is me hoping that Badawi's new directive is implemented well, to the benefit of us all.
Badawi, you the man.
I've always been really proud to be Malaysian. But what really sets us apart? What makes us uniquely Malaysian?
Is it our Manglish, the way we so tastefully and skillfully incorporate curses of at least two languages into our speech? No; Singaporeans & Bruneians speak English in almost identical ways. Is it our ability to speak Malay? No; Indonesians & Bruneians speak Malay (albeit slightly differently, but still..).
No. Tidak.
It is us being able to converse in a minimum of three languages/dialects each. Malay, English, Tamil, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka.. I'm sure that every single one of us can speak/understand at least three of the aforementioned.
Being able to curse in any one of them counts too.
Sipek cool don't you think, when the Malays start going off in Mandarin/the Chinese bitch in Tamil/the Indians speak Cantonese? I've always wanted to be able to speak Tamil fluently. My mastery of the language is limited to "Machaa.. Teh Ais Oo Nerr.." and "Deii.. Sareke Jo Karake!"
Trilinguality and beyond comes with limitless benefits. We're able to connect/communicate with a far wider audience. Service is quicker/with a wider smile in restaurants. The examples are countless, but I'm sure you've enjoyed many of the perks that come with being Malaysian.
If you're not Malaysian, fret not. Nobody's perfect.
Being a national of a country that has not one single racial identity, a country that is so bloody diverse it boggles the mind at times, it is important that we not forget our roots. Roots meaning the really really deep ones. China, India.. wherever else.
For many of us, the ability to speak and/or understand our mother tongue is our only connection left to our motherland.
A short shout-out to my ancestors from Fu Jian; Mien kia, wa ko eh hiao kong Hokkien uwa! Malaysian bo Malaysian, wa ko eh ki lu lang!
This is me hoping that Badawi's new directive is implemented well, to the benefit of us all.
Badawi, you the man.
This entry was posted by tsh, on
Tuesday, April 26, 2005.
You can bitch back.
say it