I can relate to the unease of many who feel that Bahasa Malaysia appears to take a back seat in many cases in our beloved country, especially larger cities like KL. It is no secret that many non-Malays are not really fluent in the national language which can cause a lot of problems in understanding Malay culture and affairs, no thanks to our segregated education system. It's OK for Malays and Malaysians to learn more languages to get ahead in world affairs, but for Malays to have to converse with their non-Malay brethren is another matter.
It is no wonder Anwar Ibrahim and the Pakatan Rakyat is adamant in abolishing the teaching of Science and Maths in English which they deem as not only eroding the stature of BM on her own hinterland, but also corrupting the whole Malaysian education system, should they come to power anytime.
Instead of waiting for the fate of the controversial policy, let's sort out other ways to revive the dignity of Bahasa Malaysia, quickly. I hope the following ideas will materialise without much controversy, though they may require money:
1) Increase usage of BM in Malaysian web site. This should really apply to retail, corporate and services based websites. Many GLC websites are only available in English. Perhaps we are already used to searching info in English, yet Malaysians especially Malays will definitely be delighted to see their favourite sites speak their language. Kudos to Facebook and Friendster for that!
2) Non-Bahasa newspapers should dedicate a column to Bahasa just like the Star has Mind Our English. In this way non-native Malay speakers will have a better idea of how to speak Bahasa more fluently.
3) The Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka should strive to add new words, including urban slangs and new tech jargons, into Bahasa, actively and reasonably. Perhaps they can liaise with Pusat Bahasa in Indonesia to enrich the Nusantara language together.
Nowadays Malay youths used kitorang, korang and diorang are used in place of kami, kamu and mereka for "we" (exclusive), "you" and "they" respectively. I think it's reasonable to absorb these slang pronouns as they originate from existing Bahasa words. But ai and yu in place of saya and awak? Lu pikirlah sendiri.
4) Let's have a law to check on those who made insulting or derogatory remarks on BM. Or rather, each and every language on Earth, to be fair.
5) Do something to revive modern Malay literature, which I hear is in some kind of rut right now. Are all the lectures and seminars held by renowned Bahasa authors not enough? Translated works are fine as they can add more Bahasa books in bookstores and libraries, but let's go for originality.
Please do not see this as any way to undermine efforts to improve the Malaysians' standard of English. In fact, I believe people will only want to learn foreign tongues if they do not see it as a threat to the local lingo. Look at mainland Europe. Though publications, signages, eatery menus and TV shows in English are hard to come by in, say, Germany, yet many of their citizens are fluent in half a dozen languages, as long as they know how to take care of their bahasa, their jiwa bangsa.
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