MARCH 23 — On March 16, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a two-week Movement control order (MCO) to cope with the escalating Covid-19 pandemic. Once the live-streaming on Facebook finished, I scrolled down to the “comments” section, and found some netizen’s responses which grabbed my attention. “I can’t understand what PM said!” “Can PM use English instead? “Similar sentiments were echoed by others and resonated with many “likes”.
On the fourth day of MCO, two video clips went viral online on Facebook and was widely shared. The first one is from Husna Liang, a girl from China, who shared two important messages, which consisted of the proper way of using a face mask and of washing hand, by conducting it in Bahasa Malaysia. She used to study in University of Malaya and is currently working in Beijing for China Radio International (CRI). Many users praised and affirmed her Bahasa’s proficiency level for being more fluent than natives, even joking that she is qualified to be a Malaysian.
Another one is a Malay girl uploaded a video with five advises to act under the two-week MCO by using her fluent Chinese. She suggested everyone to spend this quality time with family members and believed that all nations can overcome the challenges soon.
In these three cases, the emphasis of public attention has been on the language used. Some people used the case of Husna and the Malay girl to criticise those who are reluctant to master Bahasa Malaysia well. However, in this current climate, it is unnecessary to fixate on the issue of language. Indulging in such issues will prevent us from discovering something more meaningful information.
The example from Husna and the Malay girl has shown that learning another language is no longer an obstacle in the era of globalisation. The enhanced cross-boundary mobility has opened up numerous learning opportunities, including six months-long or year-long academic exchange programmes for practitioners to acquire the skill. In the wake of increasing number of multilingual foreigners globally, language is only a mean to an end- to communicate with others.
We, as the humankind, face common challenges, particularly in this globalised and interconnected era. We are inseparably encompassed by many international events, from chaos to cooperation throughout many decades. The coronavirus outbreak is engulfing all of us worldwide at the moment is the best example.
To be merely impressed by both language proficiency would be to grasp only the tip of the iceberg. Instead, we need to promote her practice of compassion, for thinking about the people of Malaysia and chose to communicate our language, in this time of needs. This is a precious trait of humankind, easily overlooked but powerful, which everybody across different races and nationalities can learn from.
As a rakyat, it is unnecessary to complain about the usage of BM during the official remarks, and spreading the negative sentiment publicly which could be manipulated and threaten our social cohesion. If any doubt from the official statement, you can seek clarification from others or wait for a detailed explanation afterwards from your preferred news platform.
We are capable to do more. If you are fluent in BM, please interpret the information for your siblings who are not as good in the language. If you are a parents, here is an opportunity for your children to practice using Bahasa Malaysia by rephrasing the official statement. If you are a BM teacher, this is a chance to educate your students, by emphasising the importance of learning the national language. If you are an educator, please hold online seminars with your colleague to discuss with these three facts, and unearth more valuable educational insights to inspire each other through the lesson of pandemic.
It is our turn to practice the solidarity with each other as humankind, battle the common enemy together, and not squabble over the issue of language.
* Ho Xu Zhe is a Malaysian student studying master’s degree in International Studies at Peking University, China.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
