Forum: Promote opportunities to learn Malay

The article “Apa khabar, Malay? I’m picking up a language from my childhood” (March 29) brought back happy memories of my own experience learning the Malay language. I was in Secondary 1 when Singapore became part of Malaysia in 1963. Malay was included in our daily school timetable and I loved the formal lessons.

My convent-educated mother spoke Malay to our Indian neighbours and in the market. My father did the same with his non-Chinese business associates. The language has stayed with me all these years through a mixture of circumstances and personal inclinations. 

I agree the language comes alive when we look deeper into things like the multi-language signboards in government offices. In particular, it is amusing to learn the Malay term for “staff” in polyclinics is “kaki tangan” which translates literally to “leg (and) hand”.

I keep the four-language versions of government publications to use as “textbooks”. The formal language used in these publications helps me to sound a bit more “atas” (Malay for high-class) and expand my vocabulary at the same time.

But contrary to what the writer says, I find there are occasional challenges when bantering in the language at some Malay food stalls as the stallholders tend to respond in English.

I hope Malay will be actively promoted, starting with a “Learn a word a day” series which used to appear in the newspapers during our days in Malaysia.

Chow Hon Meng