KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 ― Mastering a foreign language is not easy but, for a handful of people, it provides a good source of income.

A real estate agent, Mohd Haidher Abdul Aziz, 31, spent nearly eight years studying Arabic from Form One until he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Syariah at the Al-Azhar University in Egypt.

“I am probably a slow learner because only after conversing a lot with the local people in my first year in Egypt was I able to master Arabic,” said Mohd Haidher, who is currently pursuing postgraduate studies for a Diploma in Islamic Law at the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Mohd Haidher said he did not expect Arabic, which was often labelled by many people as only for ustaz and ustazah (religious scholars), to open doors to a livelihood in real estate.

Based on his mastery of the language, he has been the recipient of the Top Producer award in his agency four times for his success in opening a wider client market.

He said that since joining the field in June 2016, he had managed to handle real estate transactions with seven Arabs from various countries.

“The Arab market in Malaysia is quite big, so my ability to communicate in Arabic, Malay and English is a stepping stone for me to move up the ladder,” he said.

Language has also helped Waemasna Waeyusoh, 25, the Bahasa Melayu lecturer from Prince of Songkla University, Pattani campus, Thailand, as a source of her livelihood.

Waemasna, who graduated with a Bachelor's degree majoring in Bahasa Melayu at the same university, explained that Malay was the spoken language in three provinces in southern Thailand, but writing in the language was a problem because of the dialect used.

“The three provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala use a dialect similar to Kelantan’s in Malaysia, and now more and more people no longer speak Malay.

“However, what is more important now is that standard Malay is used in writing for official and educational purposes. This standard Malay can be said to be quite foreign because the Thai language is used more widely, especially outside the three provinces, she said.

“I’m glad that I pursued my studies in the Malay language to the degree level, because not only can I achieve my intention to maintain the use of the language at least in southern Thailand, but it is also a source of income,” she said. ― Bernama