LANGUAGE experts say they understand the government’s desire to uphold Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, but feel it is unfortunate that penalties will be legislated just to protect it.

Professor Emeritus Teo Kok Seong, a principal research fellow from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, is of the view that penalties are necessary as the public generally does not have a positive attitude towards Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.

But, he said, it is unfortunate that punishments are needed to get citizens to respect the national language, when they should proudly and voluntarily do so themselves, the ethnolinguistic specialist told The Malaysian Insight.

Teo was responding to news on proposed amendments to the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Act 1959 to include penalties for “disrespecting” the national language.

“A positive attitude towards the language does not (naturally) materialise although we have spent a long time establishing a country and building a nation state,” he said.

“Thus, apart from imposing urgent and short-term punishment, we also have to find other ways to inculcate positive language values among the people toward the national language in the long run,” he said.

Another linguist, Melissa Yoong of the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said Malaysia is not unique in having the perception that the national language is in danger and in need of protection.

The assistant professor of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis said other countries grapple with the same issue and have used both formal and informal moves to protect a language.

Yoong said in the field of sociolinguistics, the term “language threat” basically means the perception of the impending death of or change in a language due to an external intervention or language contact, which occurs when speakers of different languages have interactions with each other, such as in a multilingual society like Malaysia.

However, she said the proposed amendments to the Act to include punishments are still a concern as it is unclear what will be deemed a “threat” or an “insult”.

It is also unclear how a fine or jail sentence will promote respect for and strengthen the Malay language.

Moreover, changes to language are to be expected and part of human history, as languages frequently influence each other.

“This leads to transfers of features, like the adoption of words and phrases from other languages.

“All languages change and they never stop changing, and the factors behind these changes are not necessarily ‘threats’,” she said.

And while protecting a language that is dying out makes sense, Bahasa Malaysia is a vibrant one that is still part of the daily vernacular, Yoong added.

On June 21, DBP board of governors’ chairman Prof Awang Sariyan told Bernama that individuals who do not respect the national language can be fined up to RM50,000 or jailed, under proposed amendments to the DBP Act.

When contacted, Awang told The Malaysian Insight that DBP has not finalised what constitutes an insult to a language, nor has it finalised the specifics of the proposed punishments.

But he said that the offences would include “questioning” Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.

He said this is based on Article 152(6) of the Federal Constitution, which provides for Malay as the official language in the administration of the federal government, state governments and public authorities.

He said an official language includes written discourse in various official documents and oral discourse such as meetings, assemblies and contact with customers.

“As stated by the chief secretary to the government in his closing speech at the Malay Language Internationalisation Symposium on 24 June 2022, civil servants who default on the implementation of the official language can be subject to disciplinary action,” he said.

Awang added that one who insults Bahasa Malaysia as the national language and as the country’s official language, should also be prosecuted for insulting the National Language Policy.

He also suggested that DBP should be given legal authority if it is expected to function effectively, rather than just as a guardian of the national language body with roles limited to giving advice and guidance, as stipulated in the current Act.

The national language has been called Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Melayu at various times throughout the years at the behest of politicians to further agendas.

Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had wanted the national language to be called Bahasa Malaysia as he saw it as a tool for nation-building whereby the language belonged to all citizens and not to a particular race.

In 1986, then education minister Anwar Ibrahim changed it to Bahasa Melayu.

In 2007, then information minister Zainuddin Maidin announced the cabinet’s decision to return to calling the national language “Bahasa Malaysia” to forge the Malaysian identity.

In 2010, DBP announced that Bahasa Melayu is the national language.

Last month, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who took office in August last year and is currently under pressure to hold a snap general election, said Bahasa Melayu should be promoted as the language of Asean, and not “Bahasa Malaysia”. He also said the language should be used in official speeches internationally. – June 25, 2022.