Mangling The English Language

Hantu Laut

It is the most widely spoken language and spoken in more parts of the world than any other language and by more people than any other tongue except Chinese.It's the official language in most Commonwealth nations and lingua franca in many parts of the world.

The English language which falls within the Anglo-Frisian group of the Western Germanic language has evolved over 1500 years and has the most extensive vocabulary.

It is estimated that the English language has over 1 million words and is growing.It is also a bastardised language as it borrows words from other languages.It is the dominant international language in
communications,science,business,aviation,
entertainment,diplomacy and the Internet.

How could you go wrong learning and knowing this language.

Mahathir must be heart broken when he was told by the Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin that the government has decided to drop English as the medium in teaching Science and Maths.The government has decided to teach English only as a subject.Muhyiddin said it was not politically motivated but read what he says here in Manik Urai.

The irony is Muhyiddin said it has been explained to Mahathir and they have convinced him and he has accepted the government decision, but here Mahathir rebutted the claim and said they only briefed him and did not take into consideration his suggestions. This certainly is not good for Najib and it will not be the last he heard from Mahathir. The old man is known for his consistency, persistence and the will to pursue his beliefs with missionary zeal.

Raja Petra of Malaysia Today posted an interesting article on 'Why English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia' (I believe pun intended) and posted a circular written in English from a student from one of the leading universities in this country. I reproduce the circular below:

4th UiTM INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FIESTA
19 – 23 November 2009 FUTSAL-RUGBY 7- TENPIN BOWLING-BADMINTON

Dear Sport Friends,

Regarding about the global issue H1N1 happens around the world, sadly to be informing that our UiTM International Sports Fiesta will be postponing to 19-23 November 2009.

For all teams which have been confirm to participate in our events, we have to say sorry for this announcements and our Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Health also advise to us to change the date for this current situation.

By the date have been confirm incoming this November hopefully your teams still can participate in our event and don’t hesitate to contact us for further information.

And again, we would like to say sorry about the date change for the sake of our health among us.

See you in this November at UiTM Malaysia!!

Regards,

Mr. Mustaza Ahmad
Director
Sports Centre
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Malaysia

The message is clear and well understood.The writer should have written it in the Malay language and saved him the embarrassment.

You can read Raja Petra's full article here.Whether the letter is real or fictional is hard to tell.

Why is the government giving up so easily, taking the easy way out? A survey conducted by Merdeka Centre showed 58 percent of respondents wanted it to stay. Why not bring in good English teachers from overseas to teach the students as well as teach those local teachers who are not proficient in English.The other bigger aspect which the government overlooked is the availability of these teachers domestically.I am sure there is a big pool of housewives who are proficient in English that could be enticed and turned into English teachers. The other possibility are wives of English speaking expatriates.All of them could be tested for their standard of English before accepting them as teachers.

The standard of education in this country get screwed every time the Minister of Education changed.Each have their own idea of what the curriculum should be.Adding to the problem are the government educationists in this country taking little or no pride in their jobs.Teaching just for the sake of earning an income is the worst misdeed of a teacher. Teaching is an honourable profession and teachers are supposed to have conviction, dedication and love what they are doing, that is imparting knowledge to their students.

I remember in the old days when most teachers were feared, you either love or hate them, but with respect.They were look upon as mentors and people of knowledge.

During my time, English was the medium of instruction and you have to learn the language from young at primary level or if you come from a Malay or Chinese primary school you have to attend 2 years of bridge class to polish your English before going to secondary level at government English school.Those days most English schools were Christian mission schools and here you start learning English from the first year.

Although, language can be learnt at any age, to bring back proficiency of the English language the government must introduce and make it compulsory at the primary level, in all schools in both urban and rural areas.Just teaching English in Science and Maths may not be sufficient to make the students more proficient in the language.One must learn the basic structure of the language and starting young would be the best option.

Malaysia will gain much from bringing back English as the lingua franca.I agree with Mahathir that the government should at least retain the teaching of Science and Maths in English at the secondary level.

I remember well my principal in secondary school, a strict disciplinarian English man whom we students hated and called the "Bulldog".He made it a point to teach every class once a week with his version of the English language. When Rawcliffe teaches everyone listens in fear, those who missed a breath, mispronounced a word, spelled a word wrongly or didn't know the meaning would end up being called "rotten cheese", "sour grape" or the ultimate insult of being told "your grandmother would be kicking in her grave listening to you murdering the English language" but in all honesty Rawcliffe was the best English teacher I ever had in my secondary years.What goes in stays in.

Below are few examples of mangling of the English language Malaysian style:

i just want to ask...i matriculation's student...i got band 2 in muet 2008...if i repeat muet as calon persendirian 2009...how bout the result that i'v obtain from muet 2008? is it might be effect for my courses that iv been chosen before?

Posted by Anonymous | Wednesday, April 22, 2009 3:43:00 PM

A teacher in a primary school said this to the class "7 push 4 equal how many". What he tried to teach was "7 - 4 = ?" and he simply translated it from "7 tolak 4".

At least the Singapore government is trying its best to stop Singaporeans speaking Singlish, Are we going to promote more Manglish in this country or teach our children to speak proper English.

Will Manik Urai Pull A Surprise?

Hantu Laut

After 20 years under PAS rule Kelantan is still underdeveloped and lagging behind other states.What has PAS or Nik Aziz, for that matter, done for Kelantan that made the Kelantanese so subservient to this wily old man at the expense of losing out to progress and development? Should the Kelantanese continue supporting this man who put more emphasis on the afterlife than the well-being of his subjects.

Islam is a religion that orders its followers to be part and parcel of a working and productive society.The Prophet Muhammad himself, who is considered a paragon of virtues in Islam, used to pray seeking God’s refuge from laziness or idleness.In his instructions to Muslims on this aspect, the Prophet Muhammad strikes a balance between worship and work.

For two decades Kelantan under PAS which should put equal amount of effort in work as in worship is still lagging behind other states.

In term of social and economic terms Kelantan is a far cry from the rest of the nation.Should the Kelantanese continue to wallow in their parochial pride and forsake progress and development?

There are many qualified and capable leaders in PAS but have not been able to come out to the forefront as a show of respect to the Tok Guru, who is revered by most Kelantanese.The recent disagreement about the unity talk between PAS and UMNO where Tok Guru prevailed in his objection is an example of his popularity in Kelantan.

It is a matter of time that the unity talk would be raised again by those who feel the Malays are losing grip of their political power after the 8 March General Elections and the continued onslaught by DAP and PKR to capture Putrajaya had made some leaders in PAS uncomfortable.With Malays divided between PAS and UMNO the biggest worry is PAS might end up playing second or third fiddle in Pakatan if they won the next general elections.

Since after March 2008 Kelantan has become a bastion for PAS.The BN was almost completely routed here.It has lost 4 out of 5 by-elections in other states.BN biggest let down was when it lost the Kuala Trengganu parliamentary seat to PAS which it won in the March 2008 elections.

Manik Urai will be a testing ground for the BN whether it can regain a better and bigger foothold in Kelantan. In 2004 elections when Malaysians were euphoric about Abdullah new and untested leadership Kelantan almost fell to the BN.PAS won by 1 seat majority.

In the March 2008 Manik Urai state seat PAS candidate Ismail Yaakob polled 5746 votes against UMNO candidate Mohamed Zulkifli Omar who got 4394 votes.PAS won by majority of 1352 votes.

UMNO has a good chance of narrowing the majority gap or even wrestle the seat from PAS if they work hard enough.Most of their losses in past by-elections were due to loss of confidence,demoralisation, bad planning and poor strategy.

UMNO has a good chance of pulling the rug from under the feet if they can put their act together. Being the accused it should adopt defensive campaigning rather than going on the attack.

With the right strategy and with Najib's popularity on the rise, Manik Urai might pull a surprise.

Is Anwar Living In A State Of Denial ?

Hantu Laut

There is no rift in Pakatan Rakyat says Anwar Ibrahim.If there is none why bother to meet those embroiled in the crisis.

NST reported here.

Is Anwar Ibrahim living in a state of denial?

We'll see, how long before the next recrimination.

Eddy, a regular commentator to this blog has written an interesting piece which deserves to be on the front page rather than hidden in the comment column.

Eddy says:

I agree that the damage done during Abdullah's tenure needed serious repair but to have Najib do the repairs immediately will be a tall order.

However, Najib has bitten the bullet early and done many reforms to the economic and education landscape to suit the changing times. In less than 100 days of becoming PM, he has made decisions even Dr Mahathir fear to thread lest he be accused of pandering to the non Malays. Even now there are many voices voicing out their dissatisfaction to Najib on even the dismantling of some negative aspects of the DEB while keeping most of the positives which proved to be beneficial to all.

I am very optimistic that the partnership between Najib and his Timbalan, Muhyiddin will yield the right result for a better Malaysia for all races, but the changes and reforms made will take at least two years to get the desired results and that is provided that Najib takes good advise from all, including both the veterans and the youths. For example in carrying out the necessary reforms he must make sure that he do not interfere with the affairs of Petronas and not be beholden to young advisers from Ethos consultant who do not know Malaysia's history and stay clear of any new bridge to Singapore before settling the JB scenic bridge problem. If Najib stays clear from these minefields and others like it, Najib will have the support of the majority Malays/Bumiputras and I dare say Indians.

I am not sure about the majority Peninsular Chinese though, they seemed to want more of everything economically and now politically as well and going by the trend they will probably vote enmasse next GE for DAP or PKR, so, whatever good Najib and BN does will be to no avail "macam simbah air atas keladilah" especially now that DAP a Chinese based party is proving that they are the ones in Pakatan setting the direction that the loose coalition takes. That is my thoughts, I hope I am wrong.

Next stop is the liberalisation of the auto industry, wean Proton and Perodua from Government protection starting with the 1600cc cars and below so that cars like the Honda Jazz can be priced at 60-65k. Cars below 1600cc should be priced between just 35k to 65k only depending on its quality, Malaysians should start paying cars for the price our friends in Thailand pays. If Najib does this, he and BN will be most popular people among the youths of all races I think.Popularity translates into votes for BN.

Personally, I think Najib has a long term plan to ensure that in the next GE but in war as in politics he cannot show all his strategy at once, BN will be assured of victory and regain lost ground with or without the majority of the Peninsular Chinese votes, what he is doing now is to regain as much lost ground for MCA and Gerakan as possible as it seems that both of these parties are still in sixes and sevens due to the DAP merciless onslaught on them, while at the same time keeping a very close eye on Sabah and Sarawak where the next GE will be lost or won actually.

Talking about elections Bro, in Manik Urai, I think its a no brainer that PAS will win, as long as the wily old man Nik Aziz is around in Kelantan, UMNO does not have a chance. Nik Aziz is numero uno in Kelantan, they even say that when you see his potrait you are blessed, with that, I know UMNO is a goner in this by-election and it has nothing to do with politics just Nik Aziz's popularity.

No worries there,Bro, its just a small pitched battle which could be lost , but I hope UMNO/BN would not give up easily without a fight. The war in the next GE is where BN would ultimately triumph, hero selalu kalah dulu, akhir sekali baru menang. Cheers.

July 6, 2009 6:55 PM

Lim Guan Eng Green Horn Or Perspective Distortion ?

Hantu Laut

A government smothered in avalanches of recrimination and orgies of passing the buck. A government in immaturity? Greener than the grass?

Lim Guan Eng is now trying to shift the blame and responsibility to the Federal government.He is writing to Najib asking the Federal government to acquire the land at Kampung Buah Pala to be given to the squatters.Just over 20 squatters putting a gun to his head and he giving credence to their demand.A leader who can't tell a molehill from a mountain.

If you can't do the job or the seat too hot and is burning your arse, the rightful thing to do is to step down and give it to someone who has the guts and gumption to do the right thing.

The conclusion?

He would tell Pakatan supporters, he has done his job, the Federal government refused to pay and who to blame.... the Federal government.

Certainly, a perspective distortion and his doped supporters would agree with him.

What a ruse!