NEWS portals reported two Malaysian diplomats based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have been recalled to Putrajaya over reported unhappiness in the Foreign Ministry over the treatment of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob during his recent visit there. 

Two conflicting reasons emerged, the official one being the call back was due to the lack of coordination while the unofficial one was the lack of status accorded to our head of state. 

The mix-up should not be too surprising. The PM visited during a very busy time for Dubai, with 192 countries exhibiting, taking up 200 pavilions. 

Expo Dubai 2022, on of the largest exhibitions in the world attracts millions of visitors including many heads of state. 

Many political leaders, His Majesty Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the Raja Permaisuri and the Tengku Mahkota of Selangor were also received with little fanfare. 

There was an uproar about this in the media, political taunting, and even a parliamentary discussion.

The fact we are making much about this however, is surprising. 

A few weeks prior, our prime minister started another storm in a regional teacup, by suggesting that Malay be used as the official second language of ASEAN.  

Though he claimed wide support for it, it was rebuffed a day later by the Indonesian minister in charge of culture and education. 

Language is a thorny issue, particularly in Indonesia where it has been a central theme of unity, dating from the 1928 Youth Pledge, one motherland, nation and language. 

Indonesia was quick to adopt a uniform writing style, latin alphabet (due to their Dutch colonial past) and this uniting theme has been reinforced over time, through their Merdeka, Pancasila and other national movements aimed at preserving national identity. 

In contrast, Bahasa Melayu as viewed from a Malaysian context plays a dual role, as a source of unity and Malay nationalism, having changed official names a few times between Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Melayu.

Some Malaysians, usually as retaliation against criticism of English, or vernacular education, allude to the lack of commercial value of Malay, as opposed to English or Mandarin. 

Proponents argue a similar Indonesian standpoint, that of a national identity and common language. 

Both are wrong and right. 

But the reality is Malaysians have as little claim over Indonesian Malay as they have over ours, or Bruneian Malay, or Singaporean Malay, offshoots of the same language, that have since taken slightly divergent paths. 

The claim of Indonesians as “Malay” speakers, then backfired, with Indonesians claiming Malaysians as Bahasa Indonesia speakers, instead. 

Sparking this discussion in the first place, was not a very wise move. 

Another example of our obsession with the trivial, is the move by the government to impose a Sirim certification on non-medical masks, which have since been delayed after a public outcry.

Two years have passed since the pandemic began, we have been through a roller coaster, including the vaccination rush, a Beta and Delta wave, Omicron, relative herd immunity and we are already talking about entering endemicity, making this exercise rather questionable. 

In all three areas, we have more important questions to tackle, instead of diplomatic censure, our economic dip and departure of investors, instead of a rhetoric on language, a genuine effort to improve our education as a whole, and instead of masks, having proper uniform steps as we prepare to welcome visitors with borders reopening. 

Then there are issues like the anti-hopping bill, a few billion ringgit in GLC corruption, uncertainty on the elections, and how to restore global competitiveness, issues that deserve more government attention rather than such trivial pursuits. – April 13, 2022.
 

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.