ONE NATION, ONE LANGUAGE

LAUNCHING.....Chief Minister Musa Aman accompanied by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Director-general Dr. Awang Sariyan (fourth right) beats the gong to mark the launching of the state-level Language Month 2012.

By : SHALINA R

SABAH'S National Language Month is an annual event that dates back to the 1960s. It is held annually to solidify Bahasa Malaysia as the country's national language. This year Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Hj. Aman officiated the launch of the National Language Month at Wisma Innoprise on Nov 31st. The theme this year is 1Language, 1Race, 1Nation.

In his speech, the Chief Minister reaffirmed the state government's resolve to support the initiative of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in promoting the use of the national language.

He said Malaysia especially Sabah consists of many races from diverse ethnic backgrounds with different beliefs, cultures and languages. Despite it all, the Malay language has played a major part in uniting the people. The Chief Minister urged all Malaysians to uphold the use of the national language, regardless of race or social status.

He urged the people to hold fast to the national language in the midst of many outside influences that permeate every facet of life as a result of globalisation and the rapid development taking place in the country. He said, “These changes must be dealt with sensibly. In the process of development and progress, we do not want the Malay Language to be neglected.”

Musa further stressed that greater efforts must be made to improve the position of the national language as the official language, the language of knowledge and the language of unity and literature.

He said that involvement of people from all walks of life whether in urban or rural areas is crucial to achieving these goals and he pledged the state government's continued support and cooperation with DBP in these efforts.

Dr Awang Sariyan, the Director-General of DBP Malaysia, said they are implementing 10 programs, including one that provides a one-stop national knowledge and creative literature studies center to popularise the use of the Malay language internationally.

The DBP Director-General said that funds have been made available by DBP in 2011 to assist non-governmental organizations (NGO) in language-related fields including language literature, history, culture and in the field of education. Requests for funding should be submitted straight to headquarters or DBP Sabah. At least RM5000 will be channeled directly to successful applications for small-scale activities like forums and research. For major undertakings that involve larger funding applications should be submitted early. He added at least 30 associations have submitted their applications so far, but none from Sabah as yet.

Awang also disclosed that DBP is working jointly with the International Malay Language Council, Southeast Asia Literature Council and Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia Language Council to strengthen the Malay Language as the lingua franca globally. There are currently 120 learning centers teaching the Malay Language in the world. Malay language is also being taught in universities located in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America, as it is widely taught and studied in Southeast Asia, East Asia and West Asia.

Awang also mentioned that there is a Kursi Pengajian Melayu in institutions of learning in foreign countries such as in Wellington New Zealand, Beijing China, Leiden Netherlands and South Korea, which indicates that the language has the potential of becoming a language of learning at the international level. - Insight Sabah