Friday August 18, 2006
Actress’ remark on not speaking Malay draws angry replies
DAYS after the faux pas by Gubra and Sepet actress Sharifah Amani at the 19th Malaysian Film Festival that she would sound stupid if she were to speak in Malay, the issue is still being talked about.
Utusan Malaysia said it had been receiving e-mails and faxes on the issue, some of which lambasted Sharifah while others were more rational.
In his Bisik Bisik column, Awang Selamat said one reader wrote that the 20-year-old actress was not wholly to blame.
“She is a product of a multiracial country which is still building on its core strength in terms of culture and language,” the columnist quoted the reader as saying.
Awang Selamat said it would have been great if Sharifah Amani had been fluent in both English and Malay, but pointed out that unfortunately this was so only with a small number of people and that the present generation was actually at a crossroads.
“The truth is that it is not just Sharifah Amani but many more Malays these days who are more prone to speaking English in public. If that is the case, it is not the Malays who should be faulted,” he added.
Awang Selamat said the cause was probably due to the emphasis placed on mastering the English language, so much so that it has caused confusion as to the status of the Malay language as the Malaysian language.
A Berita Harian report on the Sharifah Amani issue quoted linguist Datuk Dr Nik Safiah Karim as saying that regardless of what language one spoke at home, “a citizen of this country should use the national language at functions or situations which are national in nature and not insult one’s own language.”
She said the action of the actress showed that the younger generation did not understand etiquette, which encompasses courtesy, respect, good manners and common sense.
The Perlis Malay Association (Pemanis) said any artiste who did not respect the Malay language and culture should not be given any award.
“If it has already been given, it is appropriate to consider whether to withdraw the award,” said Pemanis head Mohd Zain Hamzah.
Sharifah Amani won the best actress award at the recent 19th Malaysia Film Festival.
Utusan Malaysia also front-paged a report about another Sharifah, but this one had cheated Datuks, Datins, Tan Sris and Puan Sris of millions of ringgit.
The newspaper reported that the Sharifah who was detained by police on Aug 2 had been released on police bail.
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