Multilingual 1Malaysian Kids

Fatimah Mohamed Arshad (2011). 1Malaysia: Raise multilingual kids, New Straits Times, 2 August. OR

HAVING multilingual children is the answer to the social integration that we desperately seek. Without a doubt, Bahasa Malaysia unites the races but not necessarily integrates them.

Integration requires more than just speaking in one language; it needs understanding and appreciating cultural differences and similarities. Rooted in each culture is the answer to prejudices and misconceptions that one harbours against another.

The "segregation" in our political and social life by ethnicity is still rampant though there are areas where we are one. 1Malaysia is truly an appropriate semantic -- be it in meaning and intention. What's lacking is how it should be done.


One small step that may lead to a giant advantage is to teach our children the languages that we have in the country. Children, unlike adults, are fast learners. They are able to master five or more languages.

Currently, our children can master at least two languages (among Malays) and three (among Chinese and Indians). The Malays are at a disadvantage here as they only know their mother tongue and English, while their counterparts can master their native language plus Bahasa Malaysia and English.

So, going from three to five languages is no big deal.


Language is more than just a window to knowledge; it's a gateway to appreciating the diversity of cultures, religions and ways of life.

These languages, for instance Arabic, Chinese and Hindi/Tamil, are as old as their history. They are the institutional memories of each culture embedded in the vocabularies and semantics. Yet, we deny our children these rich languages when they are there in our lives every day.

A mono-view of culture is closing the opportunities of exploring minds and paradigms. Opening up this spectrum to young minds will teach them that diversity is a way of life. It enriches their minds, and seeds of understanding and appreciation are planted at an early age.


With this exposure, facing a multi-ethnic environment will not be an alien experience later in their adult life. They will be able to assimilate easily and there will be fewer prejudices. Networking will no longer be tough for them. With this skill, they, too, will become agile workers or professionals in the international arena.

The role of languages in breaking down prejudice cannot be underrated. Why a certain behavioural pattern is prevalent in an ethnic group can be explained if we understand their culture.

Biases, misunderstanding and most of all, ignorance, can be minimised while promoting integration naturally. This can be done by introducing these languages at school with ease and minimal cost. Inculcating inter-racial understanding at a young age is the best investment towards racial integration in this country.

Diversity, as in nature, means simply richness -- like our multicultural society in Malaysia. It is a rich fabric of cultural heritages and histories. But this beauty is yet to be tapped.

Our plural mix of ethnic groups, which should be seen as wealth, appears as an incurable boil every now and then, depending on the health of our economy, and most important of all, the political game played by politicians.

Has any one asked why, after a half century of independence, few of us are able to speak the languages of our ethnic counterparts (with the exception of Malay language), when we could have mastered them easily with will?

It's hard to believe that after staying together in one house for more than 50 years, the Chinese and Tamil languages sound strange to the Malays' ears. The tones of these languages may sound familiar, but most Malays don't have a clue what they mean. This is a sad loss, even if one hides under the disguise of nationalism.

Diversity in ethnicities/culture and languages is our unique asset. It should be used to spread our wings to the east and west of the globe.

Each language has its own market. Some foreigners have pointed out that Malaysia is not capitalising fully on its unique strength of multi-ethnicity.

That is, Malaysia has Chinese-speaking entrepreneurs to conquer business in China, Indian-speaking businessmen to invest in India, and English-speaking professionals to enter into the world market. And the country's Islamic image is an edge in the Middle East.

It's good to have this kind of specialisation, but these are not integrated.

Let's plant the seeds of integration in our children now by taking the baby step of teaching them to be multilingual in a one Malaysia environment.

Read more: 1Malaysia: Raise multilingual kids http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/18mayai/Article#ixzz1U0WuAuGQ