Maryam: By continuing to speak Malay, even as the world changes, we help keep a part of our identity alive.
IN kindergarten, I was surrounded by adults who mostly spoke Malay. My only exposure to English was through television, so it was no surprise that I was much better at Malay.
Things changed in primary school when I enrolled in an international school. The medium of instruction was English, and I interacted with people from diverse backgrounds.
Over time, my Bahasa Malaysia skills weakened, as I hardly used it at school or at home. I was even placed with second-language learners of Malay.
To say I was satisfied would be a lie – I wanted to be fluent in my mother tongue but struggled, especially with imbuhan (prefixes and suffixes).
Still, I pushed myself to be the best in class, although that wasn’t hard since my classmates had limited knowledge of the language.
When Covid-19 hit and we went into lockdown, I saw it as the perfect chance to brush up on my Malay. I started speaking more with my parents and friends during online hangouts.
I was determined, and eventually, I moved up to the first-language Malay class in school, which was a big step, but one I was ready for.
These days, although the community I am in mostly speaks English, I cherish the moments when I get to use Malay – like when buying from stalls run by neneks and atoks who aren’t fluent in English.
Some are genuinely surprised that I can speak Malay beyond basic phrases, unlike other youngsters they have encountered. It is in those moments that I feel proud I didn’t give up on my roots.
It is important to stay connected to our heritage. For me, that simply means continuing to speak Malay. By doing so, even as the world changes, we help keep a part of our identity alive.
So maybe it is time you picked up a Malay book or newspaper, took small steps and showed the world who Malaysians are – a people who can connect globally through English, the lingua franca, while preserving our national language and identity with pride.
Maryam, 17, a student in Selangor, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. For updates on the BRATs programme, go to facebook.com/niebrats.
