Nur Alia Irdina: With the right approach, the Nilam programme could lead to a better reading culture among schoolchildren in our country.
Enhancing Nilam can promote love for books, says youth
TO encourage reading and to ensure continued success of the “Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca” (Nilam) programme, the use of digital libraries should be more widespread.
And, digital sharing on students’ social platforms should be allowed as part of their post-reading reflection activity, which is a component of their Nilam records.
Initiated by the Education Ministry in 1999, the Nilam programme, which means “the reading habit is the pulse of knowledge” in English, aims to inculcate the reading habit in Malaysian schoolchildren.
Up till 2017, students in both primary and secondary schools were required to jot down details of the books that they had read – such as the author, the number of pages, the publisher and the synopsis – into a record book.
Since 2018, the programme has expanded its scope to allow students to include electronic books, educational videos and other printed materials for their records.
The emergence of more profound digital media might have dimmed the limelight on reading, and consequently the Nilam programme.
Our focus has been so anchored to the Internet that reading is no longer a favoured pastime of many people but I believe with the right approach, the Nilam programme could lead to a better reading culture among schoolchildren in our country.
My friends and I were first introduced to the Nilam programme in 2011 when we were in Year One. Back then, I viewed completing the Nilam records as time-consuming and pointless.
Despite my misgivings, I took part in it for the sake of not lagging behind my friends who would usually fill out half of their Nilam books within a month.
As a competitive child, I would go to the school library just to pick up a stack of books to read and record in my Nilam book.
Before long, I, too, had filled out half of my Nilam book, which means I must have read about 30 books.
By the time I was nine, I had become hooked on a series of Malay teenage novels written by Ain Maisarah. From then on, reading was no longer a chore. Thus, the key to reading, from my experience, is to find the genre that piques your interest the most. The more exciting the book is, the more joy you’d find in reading until it becomes almost natural to spend hours diving into the sea of letters before you.
Year Five was probably the most eventful year in my primary school years. I won third place in a short story writing competition held by a well-known publisher and was offered to write a novel.
While I now find my word choice at the time clumsy and the plot childish, I still take pride in the novel, as it is proof of my achievement as a result of reading.
In the same year, I was chosen to represent my school in the Tokoh Nilam Selection Competition after a school-level selection.
Unknown to many, the competition does not directly evaluate its participants based on the number of books they have read. Instead, the participants are assessed based on how well-rounded they are as students – a by-product of reading itself. I recall compiling my examination results and extracurricular certificates in a thick binder with a photograph of my face on the cover. On the actual competition day, we were required to sit through three types of assessment, namely, writing, individual oral, and group oral assessments.
As reading had improved my language skills and common knowledge, they came in handy in tackling the higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) questions.
I was eventually named the Ikon Nilam of my district in Year Six as I had won second place at the state level of the competition. A Tokoh Nilam, I believe, embodies the impact of the Nilam programme.
While not every student is a Tokoh Nilam, the result of reading can be seen in each participant’s ability to think more critically and have a broader range of knowledge. Indeed, reading gave me the knowledge that moulded me into the individual I am today. It became the stepping stone to a series of wonderful experiences in my life.
And to think that all these started from wanting to beat my peers in having the most Nilam records.
Nur Alia Irdina, 19, a student in Selangor, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. To join Star-NiE’s online youth community, go to facebook.com/niebrats.
Now that you have read the article, test your understanding by carrying out the following English language activities.
1 Flip through today’s copy of the Sunday Star newspaper. What is one article that piques your interest the most? Tell your activity partner all about it.
2 Using words and pictures from the newspaper, design a poster to inspire students to make reading a daily habit. You may do this activity with a few friends. Be as creative as possible. When you are done, get your teacher’s permission to pin up the poster on your school or classroom notice board.
The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme promotes the use of English language in primary and secondary schools nationwide. For Star-NiE enquiries, email starnie@thestar.com.my.
