Malaysia's Language Problems

Author(s): M. G. G. Pillai
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 11 (Mar. 12, 1994), p. 605
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4400925
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 peared. Malay became the medium of
Malaysia's Language Problems iistruiction in institutions of ligher leani-
ing. Later, English-language schools in
M G G Piillai the British and American curricuilum were
established to cater for expatriate chil-
dren; Malaysians cannot attend them with-
In Malaysia, all instruction in the universities is in Malay except in some
out special peniissioin. The govermment
disciplines like engineering and medicine. This is puitting Malaysianshadat to
a pass a law to enable the Interna-
disadvantage in a world where, increasingly, a command over English is aIslamic University to conduct their
tional
necessary quialification for employment. course in English. English laniguage re-
mains an emotive rallyinig point for the
Malay language purists, whose stance be-
MALAYSIA' S love-hate relationship witl would be in his work". Those opposed to gins to look quixotic on occasion. The
English is once more in the news. Politics, English in education object only to its use problem is so serious in the foreign minis-
racial and cultural perceptions intrude in in 4Malaysia; they do not object, for in- try that new recruits to the service now are
any discussion of its need. So, when the stance, to tlheir children accepting govern- sent to stuidy English, rather than some
prime minister, Mahathir Mohamed, sug- ment scholarships to universities and col- other language, because they have a woe-
gested recently that universities and insti- leges in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, fully inadequate command over English.
tutions of higher learning should teaclh Canada and the US. T'he government, however, is concerned
some technical subjects in Englislh, the Thlis schizophrenic approach to English with the declining standards of English,
Malay intellectuals, nationalistic groups is not in Malaysia alone. IlTe chief iminiis- the language of choice in business and
and political va-abonds predictably op- ter of Uttar Pradesh, in India, Mulayam outside the government. English is widely
posed the move. Siughl Yadav, wants English baIned from spoken, but the teaching leaves much to be
At present, all instruction in universi- scllools altogether, demanding that En- desired. Schools in urban areas still have
ties except in some subjects in such facul- glislh-imiedium schools convert to Hindi- excellent teaching facilities for teaching
ties as medicine and engineering, are in imiediumiii institutions. This downgrading ofas a second language, but not so in the
Malay. They want even this limited En- Englislh, indeed any colonial language, rural areas. About a decade ago, the gov-
glish teaching curtailed. But those whio has happeIned in every country Where the ernment imported 200 English teachers
know English are better positioned for colonial language is elitist in intent. Dutch from UK to strengthen the teaching of
jobs than those witlhout. Even the Mara quickly disappeared in post-independent English in the rural areas, but that lhad only
Institute of Technology, the government- Indonesia, with English taking its place; a marginal impact. English teachers are
run institution training Malays for sub- French declined dramatically in Indo- trained with a frenzy these days, and re-
professional technical positions insist on China despite its widespread egalitarian tired English teachers are brought back to
use, losiig out also to English. Whlere it is
fluiency in English as a condition for gradu- strengthen the rural familiarity with the
ation. Malhathir's call was to align Malay- not a political factor, it is learnt with a language.
sia into the world economic grid, where vengeance, though often with doubtful The sad fact is Malaysia's in-built ad-
English is both required and unquestioned. results: a Thai is exposed to 11 years of vantage of an English-speaking workforce
But his cryptically vague and unexplained it in sclhool, but his English is, often, is dented. Mahathir wants to reverse this.
statement ensured the inevitable back- inicomprehensible. But in Singapore, it is It is a tough task. While the average non-
lash. Two years ago, his use of English ill now the language of choice in education: Malay would speak his mother tongue,
an interview with Indonesian television 96 per cent of children begin their Malay, which he learns in school, and
was misconstrued and he was attacked education in English schools, although English at hoimie, the Malay, especially
in the main Malay newspaper, controlled they can also opt to study in Chinese, those in the rural areas, knows only Malay.
by his political party, tUMNO Baru, for it. Tamil or Malay schools. But then, English That puts hiim at a disadvantage in what
But why he spoke in English was never is the language of administration in the Mahathir calls the 'real' world. But the
explained. reptublic. problem will remain awhile: English is
Despite the similarities betweein Indo- Malaysia never had a tradition of a sec- taught funictionally, and therefore, as a
nesian and Malaysian Malay-in much ond language in schools. In pre-indepen- language for communication and nothing
the same way as between Hindi and Urdu, dent Malaya (as it was then known), the more. Two decades of this has all but
the official languages of India and Paki- British coloinial power opened Eng1lish reduced to gibberish the form of English
stan respectively-the dialect variations schools to prove the regime's clerks and spoken by many Malaysianis.
in speech can make it incomprehensible support staff; but the scope was wideined Many Malaysian students and under-
for citizens of both countries. Mahathir's as Malayan Joined the higher rungs ofgraduates studying overseas can follow
northern Malaysian Kedah dialect of Malay the administration. The Chinese, Malays lessons and lectures in English only with
can be, and is often, alien to the Javanese and Indians had their own language difficulty. This has been so in Malaysian
dialect of Indonesian Malay of his inter- schools, but were always the poor couisins colleges and universities, where reference
viewer, and vice versa. But both under- of Malaysian education; Chinese and books and textbooks are invariably in
stood English. Ghazali Shafie, the former Tamil schools still are. Ihe English-me- Englishi. Mahathir's call necessarily also
foreign minister, argued with some of dium sclhools were a privileged class of strengtlhens English language teaching in
these groups that Malay as the national their oxwn. lower forms, so that when the students
and official language is not questioned But independence in 1957 downgraded become tndergraduates, their English is
any more. Englishl would not lessen theEniglish's elilist status in edtucation and mliore thain adequate niot j'Ust for lectures
status of Malay, he said, but would be a adminiiiistratioin. By 1 972, Einglish-medillull anid reference books but for their subse-
tool to progress "as a carpenter's tools schools in the cotuntry had all buit disap- quent working life.

Economic and Political Weekly March 12, 1994 605

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