Letter By A Concerned Parent
Every time there is a parliamentary proceeding, instead of a debate between the two sides, it becomes a spectacle to showcase who is the bigger comedian. There is a big problem among members of Parliament (MPs) here in Malaysia. And the problem is, some of them can’t speak Bahasa Malaysia for nuts. Many years ago, after every parliamentary session, we would sit down in the coffee shop and have a good laugh at how Datuk Seri Samy Vellu speaks.
It was all in good fun. But today, that seems to be a norm among MPs. If one cannot speak properly, how is he going to deliver the facts? No matter how good the facts are, we listeners tend to concentrate on how the MP speaks rather than digesting the facts. With the ever-booming world of social media, everything is available with the click of a mouse.
When my children listen to some of the MPs speak, all they do is laugh. It is funny in a way, but it is also a matter of concern for us parents. They are suppose to be leaders and if they make a mockery of the national language, then who will be their role model?
My son once told me “Ayah, BM tak penting. Kalau tak pandai dalam pelajaran, bila besar boleh jadi menteri.” How disturbing is that for me as a parent? While we go about ranting that we want more professionals in politics, the current trend speaks otherwise. Let’s look at an example from the latest parliamentary proceeding. Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, MIC president, MP Cameron Highlands, minister of natural resources and environment: “...dan hari kemudian dia terbang dengan kapal terbang dan juga ini apa di helicopter dan menteri besar Pahang turun di situ dan juga Sultan Abu Bakar pun turun di situ. (Here, Palanivel was corrected by the speaker that the sultan’s name is Sultan Ahmad and not Sultan Abu Bakar)… Dan yang penting, saya sudah terbang ke Peru dan saya balik dalam tiga empat hari. Dan sebab itu saya bincang dengan menteri besar dia boleh bincang dengan Sultan Pahang. Ini Sultan Pahang marah saya, dia marah saya, dia cakap mana dia boleh datang sini dan itu itu…” He goes on to explain the efforts he took to encourage plantation in Cameron Highlands, but he sounded like he went and planted trees in Cameron Highlands himself.
Maybe the Sedition Act should be used on him for murdering and mocking our national language. Is this how a leader should speak? Is this how the president of BN’s major component party speaks our national language? It’s very disrespectful to hear a MP speaking my mother tongue this way.
I am sure Harith Iskandar would be taking notes listening to his speech. We have MPs from both the BN coalition and PKR coalition speaking badly in BM. Maybe this is why the government is losing support from the young voters. I love to hear Rafizi Ramli, Mohamed Azmin Ali or Gobind Singh Deo speak. There may be grammatical errors also, but it’s not a joke like how some of them speak. Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein speak really well too.
The young voters not only want substance in speech, they also commend professionalism and the manner in which the speech is delivered. This is where the government may be failing. Maybe SPRM should add a criteria in the electorate process where getting a creditable result in Bahasa Malaysia should be compulsory before anybody can stand for an election to be an MP.
The national language is our heritage. It reflects us. If we can’t respect and speak properly in our own national language, how are we to tell the young that mastering our national language is of utmost importance?
This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malaysia Untold.
Every time there is a parliamentary proceeding, instead of a debate between the two sides, it becomes a spectacle to showcase who is the bigger comedian. There is a big problem among members of Parliament (MPs) here in Malaysia. And the problem is, some of them can’t speak Bahasa Malaysia for nuts. Many years ago, after every parliamentary session, we would sit down in the coffee shop and have a good laugh at how Datuk Seri Samy Vellu speaks.
It was all in good fun. But today, that seems to be a norm among MPs. If one cannot speak properly, how is he going to deliver the facts? No matter how good the facts are, we listeners tend to concentrate on how the MP speaks rather than digesting the facts. With the ever-booming world of social media, everything is available with the click of a mouse.
When my children listen to some of the MPs speak, all they do is laugh. It is funny in a way, but it is also a matter of concern for us parents. They are suppose to be leaders and if they make a mockery of the national language, then who will be their role model?
My son once told me “Ayah, BM tak penting. Kalau tak pandai dalam pelajaran, bila besar boleh jadi menteri.” How disturbing is that for me as a parent? While we go about ranting that we want more professionals in politics, the current trend speaks otherwise. Let’s look at an example from the latest parliamentary proceeding. Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, MIC president, MP Cameron Highlands, minister of natural resources and environment: “...dan hari kemudian dia terbang dengan kapal terbang dan juga ini apa di helicopter dan menteri besar Pahang turun di situ dan juga Sultan Abu Bakar pun turun di situ. (Here, Palanivel was corrected by the speaker that the sultan’s name is Sultan Ahmad and not Sultan Abu Bakar)… Dan yang penting, saya sudah terbang ke Peru dan saya balik dalam tiga empat hari. Dan sebab itu saya bincang dengan menteri besar dia boleh bincang dengan Sultan Pahang. Ini Sultan Pahang marah saya, dia marah saya, dia cakap mana dia boleh datang sini dan itu itu…” He goes on to explain the efforts he took to encourage plantation in Cameron Highlands, but he sounded like he went and planted trees in Cameron Highlands himself.
Maybe the Sedition Act should be used on him for murdering and mocking our national language. Is this how a leader should speak? Is this how the president of BN’s major component party speaks our national language? It’s very disrespectful to hear a MP speaking my mother tongue this way.
I am sure Harith Iskandar would be taking notes listening to his speech. We have MPs from both the BN coalition and PKR coalition speaking badly in BM. Maybe this is why the government is losing support from the young voters. I love to hear Rafizi Ramli, Mohamed Azmin Ali or Gobind Singh Deo speak. There may be grammatical errors also, but it’s not a joke like how some of them speak. Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein speak really well too.
The young voters not only want substance in speech, they also commend professionalism and the manner in which the speech is delivered. This is where the government may be failing. Maybe SPRM should add a criteria in the electorate process where getting a creditable result in Bahasa Malaysia should be compulsory before anybody can stand for an election to be an MP.
The national language is our heritage. It reflects us. If we can’t respect and speak properly in our own national language, how are we to tell the young that mastering our national language is of utmost importance?
This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malaysia Untold.
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