Bilingual education cited for poor Malay language proficiency among students

THE bilingual education system may have played a role in students not able to speak the Malay language efficiently, the acting director of the Language and Literature Bureau (DBP) said Saturday.

In a telephone interview with The Brunei Times, Hjh Aminah Hj Momin said the dual-language system — Malay and English — was confusing the students about which language should be given priority.

The bureau was supporting the concern raised earlier by the Ministry of Education (MoE) that the Malay language could be marginalised due to students' inability to speak the language fluently, said Hjh Aminah.

"The use of Malay has been mixed up with English, it has become a ‘rojak’ language," she said.

Based on the MoE’s website, the bilingual policy was introduced in 1984 requiring a student to learn both Malay and English. It added that proficiency in English would enable a student to access a greater mass of information in the globalised world.

She added the fact that some of the subjects being taught in English could weaken students’ ability to master the Malay language.

"I am not condemning our ministry’s education system but when the two languages are being jumbled up at schools, the usage of Malay language among students could possibly be weakened," said the acting director, adding that the bilingual system was a great idea in the first place but an effective way to uphold the supremacy of Malay language must be implemented immediately.

Hjh Aminah said that the DBP would not make a direct intervention to resolve the matter as she believes that schools have always been the best channel to disseminate knowledge and it was up to the MoE how it wants to address the issue. However, she reassured the ministry that the bureau would extend its cooperation in resolving this issue.

"The DBP from time to time has played its role by getting young students to participate in all the activities organised by it to strengthen the Malay language among teenagers and youths," she said.

She mentioned that among the activities that the DBP has been organising were story-telling, debates, composition writing, pidato (public speaking) and forum competitions.

Hjh Aminah also stressed that students must have command over the national language and prioritise its usage. Malay youngsters nowadays are using a lot of English words in their daily communication, the acting director said.

She questioned the youngsters if they knew the importance of the Malay language as stated in the nation’s slogan of Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa.

"Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa means the language is our soul. Malay language is the soul of the Malay race, without it (Malay language), where is the soul of the Malay race?" she said.

She also questioned if the culture of the Malays was strong enough to elevate the status of the Malay race without the language.

"The DBP will strive to defend and uphold the supremacy of the Malay language in the country as it is the foundation of our (DBP) establishment," Hjh Aminah said.

 The Brunei Times