OCTOBER 26 — Recently, Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak has made a statement against some Malaysians who are unable to speak fluently in the national language even after 60 years of nationhood. Article 152 (1) of the Federal Constitution utilises the term "Malay language" as the national language.

Therefore, the national language of Malaysia should be referred to as Malay instead of Bahasa Malaysia.

The Malay language has been used as lingua franca of this region for hundreds of years as the language of knowledge, trade and international communication. Its profound importance is evident from the fact that it is now the national languages of four nations — Indonesia (as Bahasa Indonesia), Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia.

The Malaysian nationhood today has its origins from various Malay kingdoms. Apart from the nine existing Malay sultanates, the Malay Peninsula was once, from time to time, controlled or loosely controlled by Pattani, Aceh, Siak Sri Indrapura and Pagar Ruyung.

Sabah and Sarawak were also once under the powerful influence of the Malay Sultanate of Brunei as well as other Borneo-based Malay sultanates of Sambas, Pontianak and Sulu.

Even though Malaya were ruled by the British for more than a hundred years, the British still respected the Malays as the ‘traditional owner’ of Malaya. After much protest, the British dismantled the Malayan Union and replaced it with the Federation of Malaya in 1948.

The disestablishment of Malayan Union in 1946 meant that the citizenship of Malaya could not be easily obtained particularly among the non-Malays.

Upon independence in 1957, the Malays were only prepared to accord citizenship status to their non-Malay counterparts if these requirements were fulfilled:

(i) Acknowledgement of the sovereignty of the Malay rulers;

(ii) Recognition of the special Malay rights;

(iii) Islam as the religion of the Federation;

(iv) Malay as the national language of the Federation.

If not for this compromise, millions of non-Malays in Malaya at that time would be left stateless.

Ultimately, they might share the same fate as the Rohingyas in Myanmar today — stateless, without protection and vulnerable. It is to be noted that there are sizeable stateless community in Brunei, mostly of Chinese descent.

It is ironic that after 60 years of independence, there are Malaysians who are unable to speak even in simple Malay, as if they just recently arrived from a foreign land. Communities of various ethnicities in Indonesia could speak Bahasa Indonesia very fluently and that is their symbol of pride wherever they go.

The same could be said about the Thais, a multi-cultural country that takes pride in upholding the sanctity of their national language. It is common in these two countries that inability to speak fluently in the national language is something that is frowned upon.

It is shameful if there are Malaysians who are born and bred here in the country but are unable to master the national language. Many Malaysians could easily get offended if they are labelled as pendatang or "immigrants" but how could one move away with this stigma if a number of Malaysians do not even take pride of the national language?

How does a Malaysian differentiate oneself with a Chinese, an Indian or a British for that matter if he or she does not respect one of the most revered symbol of Malaysia — the Malay language?

If Bangladeshi or Nepali migrant workers could learn the language without much hindrance, why is it so difficult for some Malaysians to master it?

Singapore acknowledged Malay not only as one of the official languages but also as the nation’s sole national language in its constitution. However, a bulk of its population could not converse well in the language.

For instance, when a Singaporean youth, Justinian Tan, met with an accident in Johor Baru quite recently in September 2017, his friends were unable to communicate in Malay with the medical staff at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, causing a number of confusion and miscommunication to the extent of spreading lies on the credibility of the Malaysian health services.

Despite its superior educational system (as claimed by many), it seems that our neighbour in the south may have failed in upholding the sanctity of its national language the way it should be.

There are a lot of things we can learn from Singapore but clearly this should not be on the list. Some have shown arrogance by saying that the Malay language is useless and carries no value.

Apart from Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, Malay (or Bahasa Indonesia) is also the national language of the world’s fourth most populous nation and the world’s fifth most powerful economy by the year 2030 — Indonesia. Therefore, how could a language of such magnitude of influence, particularly in this part of the world be left ignored?

The statement made by Sultan Nazrin Shah is very timely. Malaysians should realise the importance of the Malay language as one of the identities that make us Malaysians.

Malay is the national language of the country and should be respected by all Malaysians regardless of race and religion. It is indeed the symbol of the nation’s pride, dignity, identity and unity.

* Dr Mohd Hazmi Mohd Rusli is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and a visiting professor at the School of Law, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.