Rightist Don Grilled For Telling Urban Parents Kids Should Master Bahasa Melayu First Before English

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FIRST thing first. Before anyone jump into conclusion, one should accord benefit of doubt to Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris’ (UPSI) associate professor Dr Azizah Zain if the idea she has mooted is directed solely at urban Malay parents or across the board to encompass all Malaysian parents.
This is given that the senior lecturer at the Department of Early Childhood Education aired her views to Malay language daily Harian Metro which predominantly targets the Malay audience.
If such is the case, there is no necessity whatsoever for non-Malays parents to feel offended with her contentious stance that “although mastery of English is important, the position of Bahasa Melayu (BM) cannot be ignored”.

This came about as Free Malaysia Today (FMT) re-produced the Harian Metro article that genreralises Azizah’s view in its introduction, “Children need a strong foundation in Malay before mastering a second language, says an academic.”

But if indeed it is true that the academician specialising in children’s education did intend to mean “children across the board”, then perhaps there is basis for some non-Malay parents to feel alarmed about her somehow rightist statement which prompted the latter to question her academic credentials.
“Just wondering if our professors attend any kind of critical thinking  or problem-solving classes so to speak  …” wondered one commenter whose view invited insults such as “kangkung (spinach) professors” or “have ” foot in mouth” disease”.

Not wanting to write off Azzah’s recommendations, another simply requested to have a peep at the good professor’s “source of reference and publications on such matters” while one thought that “she’s just trying to be nationalist in a multi-racial country”.

Another went on to describe Azizah’s view that children must first master BM before learning other languages as “outdated and narrow-minded” given research and real-world examples consistently show that children can successfully learn multiple languages at the same time.
“In fact, multilingual exposure boosts cognitive development, problem-solving and adaptability,” opined the alumni of Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.
“Insisting on Malay-only first risks limiting young minds instead of expanding them, and in today’s globalised world, the ability to juggle languages from an early age is a strength, not a weakness.”

One commenter recalled that in his generation, “it’s English first, then Mandarin and Malay” while another reckoned that one’s “mother tongue should be the first language taught at home”.

Speaking from his own experience, another commenter from the English-educated generation era disagreed with the good professor that learning English early in life would impede the development of BM in children.
“l was educated in English-medium schools (in the 1950s and 1960s) yet if not for my appearance, l could be mistaken for a Malay because my mastery of BM is at par if not better,” he vouched.
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“English is the language of technology, medicine, engineering n computers and even the main communication medium of your handphone.
“Is it wise that we cast aside the basic tool for acquiring knowledge simply because we want to advance or treasure our own language? Can’t both be used in tandem? Humans are adaptable and very capable of handling both.”
At the end of the day, one commenter aptly dished out a good advice for the good professor and those who think like her: “If we delay English, we delay their future – Malay secures identity but English secures opportunity”. 

- Focus Malaysia

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