Sesungguhnya sebuah pemikiran itu akan berhasil diwujudkan manakala kuat rasa keyakinan kepadanya, ikhlas dalam berjuang dijalannya, semangat dalam mereali-sasikannya, dan kesiapan untuk beramal serta berkorban dalam mewujudkannya.
Keempat rukun ini, yakni iman, ikhlas, semangat dan amal merupakan karakter yang melekat pada pemuda. Kerana sesungguhnya dasar keimanan itu adalah nurani yang menyala, dasar keikhlasan adalah hati yang bertakwa, dasar semangat adalah perasaan yang menggelora dan dasar amal adalah kemauan yang kuat. Hal itu semua tidak terdapat kecuali pada diri para pemuda

(Hasan Al-Banna)

Jun 12, 2009

Tim: English and us

From MalaysiaToday

I am a third year medical student currently studying in Universiti Malaya. As we read and hear about the endless wars over the issue of the English Language and our education system, I would like to give a student's perspective on this issue.

I come from an SJK primary school, attended a government secondary school and completed the local matriculation course before entering university.

I realise that those who do prefer less English in the education system are afraid that the Malay language will suffer. However, as a student, our official language - the status or importance of Bahasa Malaysia has never been threatened. It is and will always be our national language and I am proud of that. But it is not sufficient to only learn Bahasa Malaysia and neglect the other languages.

And English is becoming a necessity if a country would want to ride on the wave of globalisation. Taking a walk down memory lane, we have Za'ba (Tan Sri Dr. Haji Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad) that was known as the "peneroka tatabahasa Melayu" or the founder of Malay grammar. The Malay literature that he wrote is being used till this very day. His museum (Teratak Za'ba) in Bahau is a memorial of his contribution to this nation. As we look at his education background, we discover that he was the first Malay from Negeri Sembilan to complete his Senior Cambridge. The museum contains beautiful letters between him and his children, written in English, Malay and Arabic.

Tunku Abdul Rahman, in his fight for independence would not have made it had he not mastered the English Language. Ambassadors and diplomats to foreign countries have to be able to speak English in order to communicate with other nations. The tourism industry in Malaysia would collapse without the English language.

Do we consider Za'ba or Tunku less of a Malaysian, less patriotic, or less united? Surely not! They were, in fact among the many reasons that Malaysia exists today. I daresay that the English language was one of the key tools to our independence and our development right till today. To neglect the English language will only push us backward.

We must realise that Malaysia is a multi-cultural country with over a hundred ethnicities and is therefore a multi-lingual country. Trying to unite races with one language alone is like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. It will never work. Entering first year in university, we were shocked to see students mixing according to their ethnicity; the main dividing factor being our language of communication. Only a small group of students that spoke more than one language fluently would consist of different races. We all know the importance of inter-cultural understanding in unity; but how are we going to achieve that by only learning one language?

I say all this not to bring down the Malay language but to remind us that it is our duty as a responsible Malaysian citizen to improve ourselves in every way we can - including learning the other languages. To make passing english compulsory to pass SPM; to teach science and math in english - is a first step in the right direction.


Timothy Cheng,

Director of the Unity and Community Affairs Bureau

Student Representative Council 2008/2009, Universiti Malaya

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Tim merupakan seorang yang sangat komited dengan tugas,seorang yang patriotik.Pernah bersama2 dalam kumpulan Program Jati Diri Kolej Matrikulasi Negeri Sembilan anjuran KPM dan dikendalikan oleh senior dari UKM.Apapun ianya hanya pendapat subjektif kerana ada melayu yang tidak dapat mengawal diri dek kerana terlalu mengagungkan barat seperti mana yang telah banyak berlaku.Bagi di kampung yang tidak mengagungkan barat pun sudah hilang jati diri sebagai Melayu dan Islam inikan bagi yang terlalu mengagungkan barat.Walaubagaimanapun,pendapat beliau banyak yang tepat dan aku bersetuju dengan tulisan Tim..

3 comments:

Khairul said...

siapa Timothy Cheng ni.
dan kenapa pendapat dia amat2 berguna?
tinggi ke dia blajar?

Dalam soal ni, siapa kata PPSMI mengagungkan bahasa barat? Dan cuba terangkan bagaimana bahasa english boleh menglihangkan jati diri dalam diri org melayu dan islam.

sunggun tak relevan.

*bahasa mealyu sendiri pun banyak amik dari bahasa inggeris*

Fadhlullah Universoul said...

die top 20 pelajar matrik Malaysia 2007..tp xsurela aku tangga ke berapa..kenalan dan pernah mesra masa kat matrik dulu je..belajar tinggi mana??semua dah ade dalam tu kan??Semua pendapat amat2 berguna..tetapi last2 yang akan diguna pakai tetap majoriti..kan??
Macam usul dalam Dewan Rakyat la..ke kau tak tau??

AKu tak cakap PPSMI agungkan barat,tapi bila mana english tu jadi bahasa kebangaan dia.Bukan bahasa Melayu(malaysia).PPSMI harus dikaji(dah buat kajian berpuluh rbu habis,tp ditolak,then suh buat lagi)

ko tengok jela lifestyle anak2 muda melayu yang lepak kat tempat2 maksiat tu..

BM moden bnyak amek dr english esp term tuk sc& tech,tapi yang bukan moden banyak dari mana pulak??jangan tengok pada satu sudut..kan aku setuju dgn Tim,tetapi tak 100% setuju..kan??

nmpak dah anda dipihak mana..

Khairul said...

Ya, aku dipihak yang sukakan BI,

dan apa kena mengena dengan lifestyle anak2 muda dengan bahasa. please la.

org arb tu x der bezanya walaupun dia belajar bahasa arab.