Gurjit: My horizons have greatly been broadened through my learning of multiple languages over the years.
With perseverance and a good support system, one can take on any language learning as exemplified by this teen
THERE is a Chinese proverb that says: “To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.”
I couldn’t agree more as my horizons have greatly been broadened through my learning of multiple languages over the years.
I am fluent in four languages: English, Tamil, Chinese and Malay. Being multilingual in multicultural Malaysia makes it easier for me to interact with others, in addition to helping me better understand their cultures and experiences.
I have my parents to thank for exposing me to the Chinese language from young. They enrolled me in a Chinese-medium kindergarten, which was how I first became familiar with the language. Because both my older brothers could speak Chinese and used it frequently at home, I picked up the language rapi
dly.
My kindergarten teacher made sure my classmates and I learnt how to write and pronounce the Chinese characters properly. Giving us tests every week helped to reinforce what we had learnt. I can still picture myself scrambling to remember the stroke orders that made up each character.
When it was time to sign me up for primary schooling, my parents again opted for Chinese-medium instruction as it was a natural progression from my preschool education.
I continued to hone my Chinese language skills there under the tutelage of teachers who were considerably stricter about using the language properly.
One of the difficulties I ran into when learning the language was using the pronunciation correctly. Chinese is a tonal language in which each tone and pitch stand for a different word. For example, the words “eye”, “salt” and “smoke” in Chinese may sound the same to the untrained ear but if you listened closely, they each have a different tone.
In an effort to overcome this, I practised speaking the language more often with my friends, who would correct me whenever I mispronounced the words. Over time, my command of the language showed improvement. In fact, it was considerably stronger than my command of the Tamil language.
Except for the times when I was interacting with my mother or my uncle and aunties, I hardly ever used Tamil. Not just that, all my cousins spoke Chinese, so we basically ended up speaking in the language whenever we met.
At home too, my siblings and I constantly spoke Chinese to the extent that my mother could make out a few words and understand what we were saying. Apart from my speaking skills, my Chinese essay writing saw improvement, thanks to my teacher in Year Six who would give my classmates and me an essay to complete before the end of schooling hours every Thursday.
On my part, I learnt new vocabulary by listening to Chinese songs and reading the lyrics while singing along to them.
This made it easier for me to recall the new words I had picked up.
I continued learning Chinese as I moved on to secondary school. Because of the different syllabus and the more advanced level, I felt like entering a completely new planet in my Chinese language classes.
My classmates and I had to comprehend and translate classical Chinese literature into modern Chinese text. I struggled greatly with it to the point of seriously considering giving up the subject.
My father, however, advised me to persevere with it as he strongly believed that my Chinese language mastery would help me later in life.
Thankfully, my brothers and friends helped me greatly throughout my journey; they explained to me the meaning of each text and helped me with my homework. Having patient and compassionate teachers eased my experience too.
Early this year, during my school’s orientation for us Form Four students, I learnt that Chinese literature is among the elective subjects offered.
To further expand my knowledge, I made the decision to take up the subject. I have since found Chinese literature to be enjoyable, which surprises me.
It is a whole new world on its own. I really enjoy reading Three Ways of Looking at an Old Pine Tree written by Zhu Guang Qian. It talks about the practical, scientific and aesthetic perspectives of each person looking at an old pine tree.
Chinese literature gets very interesting as you discover how each story unfolds and understand the meaning behind each action. Looking back on my journey as a Chinese language learner, I must say that I am proud of having stuck it out this long despite the challenges.
I believe that by learning each other’s languages, we are breaking the language barrier that is stopping us from having a really enjoyable time with one another.
I hope my experience will inspire more Malaysians to learn another language, be it Chinese or otherwise. Good luck!
Gurjit, 16, a student in Pahang, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team.
Now that you have read the article, test your understanding by carrying out the following English language activities.
1 Besides language, how do you think one can connect with people from a different community? Discuss with an activity partner.
2 Imagine you were Gurjit and you had been invited to share your language learning journey at your school assembly. This article is your first draft of the speech that you are going to deliver. Shorten it to a length of between 350 and 500 words, before practising your speech delivery. Next, take turns with an activity partner to deliver your respective speeches. Finally, rate each other’s scripts and speech delivery. Have fun!
Since 1997, The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme has supported English language teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools nationwide. Now in its 25th year, Star-NiE is continuing its role of promoting the use of English language through a weekly activity page in StarEdu. In addition, Star-NiE’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme will continue to be a platform for participants to hone and showcase their English language skills, as well as develop their journalistic interests and instincts. Follow our updates at facebook.com/niebrats. For Star-NiE enquiries, email starnie@thestar.com.my.
Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad had referred to the continued use of chopsticks by the Chinese community in Malaysia.PHOTO: ST FILE
The outdated worldview and narrow thinking expressed by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in his new book cannot be allowed to undermine the country's race relations, said Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) secretary-general Chong Sin Woon.
Datuk Chong urged all Malaysians not to be easily swayed by the words of the former premier.
"Instead, commit ourselves to be more open-minded, progressive and accepting of others' cultures so that we can build a more united Malaysia together.
"We do not want to see Malaysia's precious multiracial ties get strained because of his new book and his remarks, which propagate racial division and extremism," he said in a statement yesterday.
Mr Chong noted that Malaysians should discuss nation-building from a progressive and diverse perspective.
At a book launch on Sunday (Dec 12), Tun Dr Mahathir had referred to the continued use of chopsticks by the Chinese community in Malaysia.
"The Chinese eat with chopsticks, they don't eat with their hands. They have not adopted the Malaysian way of eating food.
"They retained the chopstick, which is an identity from China, not Malaysia, and many other things," he reportedly said.
Mr Chong said MCA has been expending all efforts to protect and preserve the cultural diversity and rights of each ethnicity, including the freedom to learn one's mother tongue as provisioned under the federal Constitution, as well as the prevailing principles of moderation, freedom and democracy.
As a former prime minister who led the country and achieved economic success during his tenure in the 1990s, Dr Mahathir had his fair share of contributions and failures, Mr Chong said.
"And yet, after so many years, he is still unable to break free from the extreme, racial mindset.
"At 96, one would expect Tun Mahathir to have a more seasoned outlook and come up with wiser approaches to current affairs.
"Regrettably, the nonagenarian remains unchanged in his old ways, still bitter and critical about the specifics of the ethnicity and cultures of others," he said.
More on this topic
MCA vice-president Tan Teik Cheng also criticised Dr Mahathir's remarks, saying the Langkawi MP's narrow and racist values "have no place in Malaysia's multicultural society".
"Despite the full awareness of Malaysia's multiracial composition and having served as our nation's premier twice, Dr Mahathir remains besotted with inciting differences in the rakyat's ethnic culture, language and lifestyle as his political capital.
"How ironic and contradictory from a disposition expected from Malaysia's most senior political figure," he said in a statement.
Datuk Tan said Dr Mahathir's remarks betray his preference that other ethnic groups must assimilate.
"Undermining national unity and instigating racial sentiments by stirring one against another, in this aspect, taking the examples of eating with hands versus eating with chopsticks is un-Malaysian and unhealthy," he said.
Whether the Malaysian Chinese eat with their hands, chopsticks, or forks and spoons or knives, Mr Tan said their Malaysian identity and citizenship cannot be changed or denied.
Another former prime minister, Najib Razak, took to his Facebook page to aim a jibe at Dr Mahathir, posting an old photo of the 96-year-old using chopsticks to toss yusheng.
We can do it: When faced with the challenges
of being truly Malaysian, we should not be as timid as Game of Thrones
Theon Greyjoy (left) waiting for sausages to be served.
I SPEAK my mind. I don’t care what you think of me or what I say. I care that I move people, and hopefully for the best. You cannot sugar-coat truth, truth must be spoken loud and clear if we want to make a difference. Speak Out.
A great nation is one where the majority looks at its marginalised minorities with compassion and empathy, and ensures their wellbeing is taken care of, and the weak among us are always protected. A great society ensures that the disadvantaged are helped in the best way such that opportunities do not pass them by.
Malaysia in this sense is a real paradox.
It has a majority that is politically powerful and yet economically weak and uncompetitive. The Malays (and to some extent our bumiputras overall) by and large have been told over decades that they are superior but are unable to compete and therefore needed every advantage and protection by their political leaders, their clerics, the state, the monarchs and every other self-proclaimed champion under the sun.
Hence, we create a supremacist complex, subconscious in most and overt in some, but one with a dependency syndrome.
The minority Chinese and Indians are economically strong, competitive and over the years, in the absence of a reliance on government assistance, has also become urbane and progressive in outlook.
Hey! Do you know the other minority that to a certain extent fit this category? The progressive Malay liberals.
That despised minority among the majority. What do all these people have in common? When faced with the challenges of being truly Malaysian, they are as timid as a gang of Theon Greyjoys waiting for sausages to be served. The majority of them are so scared to speak out or come out. Witness the Bersih rallies, the numbers are way below the actual support.
I have news for all you Theons, we can do it. You’ve proven it on May 9. You all came out. Don’t stop there. It’s time all of us come together to change our nation to be truly progressive, modern and, sooner rather than later, join the ranks of developed nations.
To do that we must be Malaysian first – without fear or favour. Never again allow an injustice perpetrated upon your fellow Malaysians be left unquestioned and unanswered.
Never again allow that little voice that says “let’s not court trouble”, or those that shout at you “you are not of the religion, do not interfere” stop you.
Humanity knows no race, no religion nor does it care what your supposed station in life is. We are all Malaysians. If we want to be equal we have to behave as equals, until the powers that be capitulate.
If we see our race denigrating or abusing the other, speak up and condemn it. If we see another race doing it to their own, speak up as well.
If we see another people of a different religion abusing and persecuting their own kind, speak up. They are your fellow Malaysians. There is no justification in persecuting our fellow Malaysians.
Let me give you an example.
If someone proposes to impose penalties upon Malaysian Muslims that only the Muslims in our nation will be subjected to for the same crime, we must all speak up and oppose it. This is not about religion. It is about fairness to our fellow citizens.
Being a Malaysian means speaking up on behalf of every one of our countrymen. Standing up to oppression and for justice for all. None of us can or should be shut up for one reason or another when it comes to what happens in Malaysia and to Malaysians. We are all equal. We need to walk this talk until we change the environment by which discourse takes place in this country.
There will be many detractors and there will be many people who will mine the well of extremism to stop us. We should not be cowed by them because that is what they want of us. They have been scaring us all to compliance all these years.
Right-thinking Malaysians must demand that our elected leaders step up and lead, and not follow the herd. The herd follow the shepherd, not the other way around. When I hear characters say “we must be sensitive to the feelings of the majority”, I know these are no leaders.
These are mere political hacks, characters who are interested in the jockeying of position and personal victory, rather than one willing to risk his or her popularity to stand by the courage of their convictions and chart the destiny of the nation and its people. More than likely such people do not even have any convictions.
This nation needs leaders. We are at crossroads in our history. I believe the next three years will determine whether we will sink back into the old politics of protecting and championing race and religion, or we will emerge as a confident nation of equals ready to bring our collective strength to take on the world on our own terms. The result will be determined by us Malaysians speaking out and standing up to and with our fellow countrymen, and insisting that our “leaders” lead.
This is what I intend to continue to do.
The fundamental need in Malaysian education reform
THE Science and Technology Human Capital Report and Science Outlook 2015 by Akademi Science Malaysia show that we may soon have a serious shortage in science-related fields.
It seems more students are opting out of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields at secondary and tertiary levels.
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Hannah Yeoh – quoting the National Council of Science, Research and Development which stated that the country needed about 500,000 scientists and engineers by 2030 – pointed out that we have only 70,000 registered engineers, seven times lower than the number required.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry proposed black shoes, special number plates and a manual for noble and religious values to be read out at assemblies.
What is going on here? Why is there this serious disconnect between what the nation needs and what the so-called custodian and driver of the nation’s education machinery?
I think it’s time to talk about the fundamental elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about when it comes to education reform in Malaysia – the number of hours dedicated to religion (including its related subjects) and the influence of religion in Malaysian schools.
With 60% of our population being Malay-Muslims, what and how their children are educated from young is a concern to all Malaysians.
They are the backbone of the nation’s future. Even a cursory look at the hours spent by these children in religious classes should alarm everyone, what more in the government’s Sekolah Agama (religious schools).
Equally of concern, in Sekolah Kebangsaan (national schools), non-Muslim children would be attending alternative subjects that may not enhance their educational value, especially in Science, at the times Malay children attend their religious classes.
Educating children is a zero-sum game. There are only so many hours in a day. Children cannot be going to classes all day long.
They also need time for games and sports and other extracurricular activities that have nothing to do with classroom learning but more to do with expanding their experience of life, physical exertion and just relaxing.
Therefore, their “classroom time” is finite and each subject accommodated means another will have less of it.
A typical Malay-Muslim child in Year One at national school undergoes approximately four hours per week of religious studies (including related subjects such as Tasmik or Quran reading).
Another hour and a half per week go to Bahasa Arab.
Science, on the other hand, is only accorded an hour and a half per week. A Year Six pupil gets about four hours of religion and related subjects, with one hour of Arabic per week. Science gets two hours per week.
Let’s be honest.
The only reason for Arabic being taught is due to its affiliation to the religion, otherwise the next language a Malay child should be learning is either Chinese, Tamil or even Spanish, the next most spoken language after English.
So basically from Year 1 to Year 6, the ratio is approximately on average two hours of Science versus five hours of religion per week.
That is the formative years of our children. What are we doing to our children? This is appalling.
We are basically indoctrinating our children in religion and neglecting basic sciences that will make them critical thinkers and progressive individual with real foundation.
In the same instance, our non-Malay children also are disadvantaged because they are not taught those sciences at the time Malay children are in their religious classes.
Let’s get it clear.
The function of education is learning to think critically.
The function of religious studies is indoctrination to be obedient followers. We are regressing our Malay children and failing our Malaysian children overall.
Again, let us be honest. Our national education system today, save the vernacular schools, both from an administrative and teaching standpoints are overwhelmingly Malay.
And the Malay-centric system is overwhelmingly religious.
Our children are taught overtly and subliminally that being the “correct” Muslims is the only option.
The authoritative teacher and peer pressure brought upon the Muslim child today is overwhelming at school.
It is a norm to find daughters coming home in tears being bullied as a result of their or their parents’ outward appearance, especially mothers, that do not conform to religious dogma.
The bullies in most circumstances are the Malay teachers themselves. As such, both parents and children conform to avoid the oppressive peer and teaching pressure.
In such an environment, the dichotomy between Muslim and non-Muslim children becomes pronounced.
Is it any wonder that our society right from school to their adulthood has become divided and suspicious, and in a significant portion, easily inflamed with hatred?
Today, race is not the main driver of such divisiveness, it is the religious influence over society starting from the schools.
We need to confront this issue head-on and not be cowed by the label of “sensitivity”.
It is the sensitivity of not talking and confronting these issues that has made the bad become even worse. One cannot solve a problem if one cannot acknowledge and confront their existence in an honest manner.
We need honest conversations and political will from the Education Ministry to overcome this seemingly intractable virus that has infected our whole education system and administrative body.
In this aspect, I have not even touched about the watered-down content or substance of the school subjects, especially Science and History, as a result of the religious influence within our education system.
That will be for another day.
What we have is an almost unique Malaysian national education problem found nowhere else in a functioning democracy.
The result of at least 30 years of Barisan Nasional and PAS politics of using religion to buy the votes of the Malay electorate.
We require a head-on examination of the philosophy of Malaysian education which is today religious-centric instead of education-centric and STEM-centric as would be required by a 21st century modern nation that wants to be developed.
It also requires a total re-education of our teaching human resources – from one that has been religiously indoctrinated to one that will be accepting of all religious and non-religious peoples and societies as being equally good.
One where the teachers are focused on STEM education and ensuring critical thinking rather than being obsessed with religious pre-occupation of any sorts when they are in the national schools educating our children.
One where rational critical thought is the inspiration for good values rather than one that derives on religious books and doctrines as the minister has instead suggested.
We need to demand this of our Government, from our educators and our education system.
If these two fundamental aspects of our basic primary education cannot be rectified – a major increase in teaching/learning time for the sciences and a significant reduction in religious indoctrination and influence in national education – no amount of other esoteric and sophisticated policies and plans would be of any worth.
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam said
Malaysia’s Vision 2020 objective was “falling apart” with “alarming
speed”, and he blames Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for it.
In his keynote speech at an event to mark the sixth anniversary of the
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), Musa said this was
because the former premier did not train leaders but instead chose to
retain and train followers instead.
“It is ironic that Dr Mahathir’s vision is now certain to fail because of Dr Mahathir himself.
Those who oppose vernacular schools ... are driven by their desire to produce a society moulded in a way that they desire. Please keep element of choice for both parents and students.
AMONG those opposing vernacular schools, you can detect one umbrella argument that is continuously used by many parties. They say that the existence of vernacular schools is a threat to national identity and a hindrance to unity. Their fear is that this student segregation will lead to a fracturing of our society.
I disagree with this view. I think they confuse the purpose of education and there is also a lot of hypocrisy going on.
Let us firstly look at the concept of schooling. Historically, the entity known as a school has its origin in Prussia in the early 1800s.
At that time, Prussians were looking at methods to produce citizens who would loyally work and fight for causes determined by their rulers. So they devised a system where, from a very young age, their citizens were trained to live a regimented life.
It did not matter what your abilities and interests were. As long as you were of the same age, you would be grouped together and forced to learn subjects determined by the elites.
Like the military, there was heavy emphasis on leadership by head teachers and teachers, while students were mere recipients of what was taught to them. That regimentation remains as the nature of modern schools.
After two centuries of bureaucratic evolution, schools these days are not about providing holistic education to support the child’s individual growth anymore. Instead it is about producing cohorts of citizens who can be easily grouped and compartmentalised.
Every one of us who went through the modern school system has been compartmentalised into groups based on our exam results.
And that is also why it has become the norm for those in power to use the school as a tool for social engineering. From day one, since Prussian times, the purpose of a school has always been about social engineering. Yet the vast majority of people today confuse schools with education.
In reality, you can still get an education without going to what have become our traditional schools. Education can be obtained from home, or in informal groups that come together for what is today known as “home-schooling”.
More interestingly, there is also a global interest in concepts such as unschooling, Sudbury schools, and democratic schools.
Those who oppose vernacular schools usually do not argue about the quality of education received by the students. They are not driven by the desire to catalyse social mobility by ensuring everyone has access to quality education. But they are driven by their desire to produce a society moulded in a way that they approve of.
The elites have a concept of what they feel society should be like and they want to use the Prussian factory-like model of schools to produce underlings who behave according to their pre-determined mould. To legitimise their mould, they label it as unity.
Note that their desire for unity has nothing to do with education. Their focus is on schooling. And this is where the hypocrisy creeps in.
Many of the people who want to promote their mould of unity have never attended any of our government schools. They don’t even send their own kids to our schools.
They step into our schools perhaps for a few hours a year for hyped-up visits, yet they speak as if they really know. More amazingly, they speak as if they actually have faith in our school system when their actions show otherwise.
In reality, these elites campaign for something that will never affect them. When it comes to their own families, they send their children for a “better” education elsewhere.
They want to limit our choices on schools because they know that they can always pay their way out and send their own children to a school of their choice.
This is the tragedy of some of the privileged. Instead of looking for ways to make sure everyone can afford school choices like them, they want to kill choice for everyone who cannot afford to pay.
Let me pose a rhetorical question.
If unity can only be achieved by making students from different backgrounds come together in one school, then why do they just want to close vernacular schools?
To be specific, data shows that Chinese schools have higher ethnic diversity than other schools. I can think of many non-Chinese schools that are completely mono-ethnic. If we are objective, it is not the Chinese schools that need to be closed down.
This is why I say that there is a lot of hypocrisy in the debate. Worse, that hypocrisy is clouded by confusion about whether we want to educate or we just want to have factory-like schooling.
The vernacular school debate is a debate of the elite. For us common people, our sole desire is to be able to provide our kids with quality education.
It is possible to provide school choices for the commoners, such as by using school vouchers so that choice is provided but schools are still free for the students.
Of course, it will take time to move towards this choice-based system. Until we get there, I beg the elites to stop trying to kill what few choices remain for us poorer citizens of this country.
By Wan Saiful Wan Jan The Star
Thinking Liberally
Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (www.ideas.org.my). The views expressed here are entirely
the writer’s own.
Jul 7, 2015 ...Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and
Economic Affairs ( www.ideas.org.my). The views expressed here are ...
Jun 23, 2015 ...Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and
Economic Affairs (www.ideas.org.my). The views expressed here are ...
I
often take a long pause when I am asked about what I do in Beijing,
especially if the person is from Malaysia. For the last two decades,
more than 90% of Chinese Malaysian families send their children to
vernacular primary schools. Those who do not read and write some…
