|
In his National Day Rally speech this year, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong urged Singaporeans to learn the Chinese language in order to hop onto the China economic juggernaut. Here, I wish to highlight the need to learn the Malay language. This may seem to be a contradiction to the prevailing trend, but it is not. After Sept 11 and the events that have since taken place in Singapore, the Government is even more acutely aware of the gap between the different ethnic groups here which needs to be bridged. One of the measures it has introduced is to encourage more students to take up a third language which includes Malay. At the moment, only the top 10% of students (primary school leavers) are allowed to take a third language in secondary school. This will be increased to 30% from 2004. Meanwhile, Chinese clan associations here have begun to conduct Malay classes for Chinese Singaporeans who wish to learn the language. Malay associations have also organised courses for Malays who are keen to pick up Mandarin. While responding to PM Goh's call to learn the Chinese language, we must also realise the importance of Malay. Who knows, Malaysia and Indonesia may one day also offer much-sought-after economic opportunities similar to those now present in China. Let me quote a Malay saying:“Bahasa jiwa bangsa”, which means language is the soul of a race. If we know the Malay language, we will be able to understand how the Malays think, and why they react in a certain way to events unfolding in Singapore and elsewhere. This will no doubt help to promote racial harmony and solidarity. As it is, the Malay language is now used only in singing the national anthem and in giving commands during military training in national service. This may give our neighbours the impression that Singapore is unwilling to be a part of South-east Asia. PM Goh's call for Chinese Singaporeans to learn the Chinese language more seriously may make them even more suspicious. The minorities in Singapore, i.e. the Malays, Indians and Eurasians, will also feel a little uneasy and wonder whether there will be a place for non-Chinese-speaking Singaporeans in Singapore. This kind of sentiment will certainly weaken the sense of racial harmony in Singapore. There is yet another reason for learning Malay which is the national language of Malaysia and Indonesia. Mastering Malay means we will be able to communicate with 2,100 million Malaysians. Due to a school system in which Malay is the main medium of instruction, Malaysians' command of foreign language, i.e. English, has declined drastically and Malay appears to be the only language known to the younger generation of Malaysians. Once the Indonesian political and economic situations stabilise, Indonesia will also be able to develop by leaps and bounds and will offer tremendous business opportunities to us. In conclusion, not only can learning Malay enhance cultural exchanges between the different races in Singapore, but it can also benefit us economically. Let's start learning and mastering Malay as well. (The writer is a retired NUS professor in Malay.)
|
吴作栋总理在今年的国庆群众大会演说中呼吁国人学好华文，以便搭上中国的经济快车。我在这里强调为什么我们需要掌握马来文，看起来好像和大势所趋背道而驰，实际上并非如此。 九一一和后来在新加坡发生的一些事件，使政府更强烈的意识到各种族之间的了解还有待改善，因此采取了一些政策促进族群的相互了解。 其中一个政策是鼓励学习他族的语文，并决定从2004年起，允许更多（30%）的小学毕业生修读第三语文，包括马来文。 另外，福建会馆和宗乡总会也联办马来语会话班，为公众人士提供学习马来文的机会。一些马来团体也开办华语会话班，方便马来人学习华语。 在响应吴总理的号召学好华文的同时，国人最好也学好马来文。有朝一日，马来西亚和印尼也可能提供和中国一样具有吸引力的商机。 有一句马来谚语说：“语言是一个民族的灵魂”。掌握了马来文我们就能了解马来人的想法，和他们对发生在新加坡和其他地方的事件的反应。这无疑可以加强族群的和谐与团结。 马来文虽然是新加坡的国语，却只在唱国歌和军事训练发施号令时才被应用。这可能使我们的邻国认为新加坡并不热衷于作为东南亚的一分子。吴总理鼓励华族认真学好华文，可能会引起他们更大的猜疑。 新加坡的少数民族，即马来人、印度人和欧亚裔人也会觉得不安。他们会怀疑如果不懂华文，他们在新加坡是否还能享有一席之地，这样的想法肯定会削弱种族和谐。 马来文是马来西亚和印尼的国语，掌握了马来文，我们便可以和2100万的马来西亚人沟通。马国政府多年来实行马来文至上的教育政策，马来人使用外语，例如英语的能力每况愈下，马来语几乎是新一代马来人唯一能掌握的语言。 另外，当印尼的政治和经济上了轨道后，国家便能快速的发展，从而提供新加坡巨大的商机。 总的来说，掌握马来文不但可以促进国内各族群之间的交流和了解，也能为我们带来经济利益。让我们来学习马来语，掌握马来文吧！ ·作者是新加坡国立大学退休马来文教授。
|
