Image source: The Online Citizen
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim's statement during his dialogue session last week with 200 pre-university students stunned the nation.
Malay and non-Malays.
His statement created a quite a stir on the social media networks.
Facebook, Twitter, online news.
I too was appalled by his comment but rest assured, he probably made it history and can stand side by side with Othman Wok.
We are not in Kelantan or Kedah, where everyone speaks Malay in and out of the classrooms… it may be timely for us to teach Malay as a foreign language rather than as a mother tongue.’
I wanted to write up about it before I headed to KL but I am glad I did not.
It turns out that Dr Yaacob is "disappointed by the negative reactions to his remarks on teaching the Malay language"
He clarified that he referred to "methods used in teaching foreign languages could be explored, to find out if these offer more ideas in teaching Malay to children who do not use Malay as a primary language at home"
Ok hang in there...
There is really a big difference here and I do not blame the citizens for 'misunderstanding' him.
We were seen as citizens who misconstrued his statement.
Did you even think that pre-university students who are 17 to 19 years of age would have grasped it better than the adults did?
It would have meant of the latter if he had said,
"teach Malay like a foreign language" instead of "teach Malay as a foreign language"
Sure, when you try to teach Malay as a foreign language, there are methods or even padagogy which you can adopt to ensure that our Malay students excel in their Malay subject.
But when you try to teach Malay as a foreign language, it meant to say that these kids have no basic to the Malay Language.
But actually, I will not agree with either way.
Malay is our Mother Tongue.
Our Mother's Tongue and I am sure his too.
Agreed?
Why would you want to create a teaching method like as if we have never spoken the language before.
Malay language, even to those who does not excel in them does not sound French or German or even Chinese for the matter.
How do the chinese students in Singapore today do better in their mother tongue?
This success story should be shared with Malay and Tamil students who are poor in their own language. There are also some students in Singapore who take Urdu and even Punjabi for example as a second language.
In fact, schools are looking into ways which can help students in Chinese.
Will this be uncalled for other second languages?
Or should we start blaming the government for making English our 1st Language?
So instead of coming out disappointed that he felt misunderstood, maybe he should take a step back and look back and what he had said.
The variance of the former and latter statement speak volumes and how whatever he had said is seen as a concern of "improving and evolving the teaching of Malay to maintain its functionality."
Where is hype today about Bulan Bahasa?
Many non-Malays were flabbergasted that a Malay minister, who the malays look up to, made such a statement.
A lot of comments were flying back and forth about Malay being a national language and I am proud that the citizens know their roots.
The government's sow their seeds for racial harmony is finally reaping rewards.
I hope Dr Yaacob will become more principled in time.
His comments that Islam should be more flexible and teaching Malay as foreign language does not help the minority here.
Islam is not rigid so it is a mistake to make it sound like one.
It is a principled religion just like all other religions. The reason why there are many religions is because some principles are of priority than the others.
For those who understood Dr Yaacob as how he explained himself, I am happy for you.
I am happy enough if he continues to speak of the environment and water.
Sources: The Online Magazine, Channel News Asia
