"Developing one’s BM abilities takes a tremendous amount of time, effort and dedication. Having overcome my shaky start in Year One and gone on to hone my BM skills throughout my schooling years,
I am now able to communicate in BM with ease, be it in its written or spoken form.
In fact, it has become a crucial component of my skill set, enabling me to pass on knowledge as a private tutor for primary and secondary school students. To hone your BM skills, start by finding the drive and determination to learn the language.
Having this mindset is crucial because it will serve as the fuel that propels you forward in your endeavour.
Next, incorporate the language in your daily activities, such as watching a movie or TV show with subtitles in BM, and reading BM essays or articles.
The former was most effective for me because it allowed me to enjoy the entertainment while learning new BM vocabulary.As a multilingual who speaks six languages, I find that the key to mastering any language is to use it in daily interactions by speaking it.
It is important that all Malaysians are able to communicate using BM as it is our national language. Although the learning process may be difficult, it is never too late or impossible to start honing one’s language skills." – Wong Hoi Kei, 21
"Malaysians regularly debate the use of BM or English as a medium of knowledge. As a tertiary student, I find the topics taught are comprehensive in both languages.
This proved to me that BM has the potential of being on a par with English in the academic world.
In university, we are required to take General Studies subjects (MPU), which are mostly taught in BM as part of the government’s initiative to enhance knowledge about Malaysia.
Some students struggle with these subjects due to their lack of proficiency in the language. This should encourage us to take a page from countries such as China, Japan and Korea, and put in effort to uphold the use of our national language.
It is important that we speak our national language. When we speak a common language, we are able to communicate more effectively and understand each other better, thus preventing any conflict or misunderstanding, especially in a multiracial country such as ours.” – Charis Chiang En-Hui, 20
In the Chinese vernacular school I studied at as a primary school pupil, I rarely conversed with my friends in BM, only doing so with some Malay teachers.
BM lessons were explained in Chinese, and I wrote in BM solely because of the need to pass school exams. The struggles came when I entered a national school at the secondary level.
Some in our society like to say learning BM isn’t important or shouldn’t be made compulsory in schools because we already have English as a global language.
But being in a national school for a month before I transferred to a Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (SMJK) school opened my eyes to the importance of our national language in helping us build multiracial friendships. – Pieng Ee Chee, 17
All students featured here are participants 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 Hoi Kei provided three tips for improving one’s command of BM. What are they? What have you yourself found most useful in your language learning? Discuss with your activity partner.
2 Why is BM important to us as Malaysians? Draw a mind map to illustrate your points. You may include examples using words and pictures from today’s copy of the Sunday Star newspaper.
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.
