Everywhere in the world, language is a political issue, and has been so since time immemorial. But in the context of Malaysia, the issue of language is, more often than not, a divider rather than a unifier. At times, the situation becomes so tense that it almost escalates into a threat to national security.

Needless to say, the non-Malays often look askance at the attempt by Barisan Nasional to widen the use of Bahasa. But they are, most probably, not against the language per se, but the supremacist agenda behind it.

Meanwhile, the Malays simply don’t seem to understand why the Chinese in this country guard so jealously their right to mother-tongue education.

“How would it be possible for the Chinese language to disappear from the globe given that China is the most populous nation in the world?” some would ask.

But again, many ethnic Malays in the southern provinces of Thailand are unable to converse in the vernacular thanks to forced assimilation, despite the region being surrounded by the Malay world. This is what state hegemony is about.

If a language dies, something personal is lost with its demise. And for many a nation, language symbolises not just a spoken tongue, but a culture and an inalienable part of one’s identity.

More relevant issues

I am no idealist when it comes to language. While I fully understand the anxieties of the Tamil and Chinese communities over the future of their mother tongues in Malaysia, I have never conferred language a cultist status as many do.

Come elections, whether or not a candidate is able to speak Mandarin or other Chinese dialects is often an issue that could swing the Chinese votes. English-educated politicians, past and present, have been compelled to learn to utter at least a few phrases in Mandarin just to broaden their appeal. Fluency in other Chinese dialects is always a plus.

Treasuring and preserving one’s cultural and linguistic heritage is, of course, desirable, but too much emphasis on it could cause one to lose sight on issues that are most relevant and pivotal in political process.

chia kwang chye For instance, Gerakan, conceited and complacent with being a parochial, Chinese-centric ruling party in Penang, lost its multiracial outlook over the years. Chia Kwang Chye’s poor command of Mandarin might have contributed to his failure to be considered a candidate for chief minister, the greatest loss of the once promising party is in fact manifest in its populist appeals and ideological vacuity.

And Gerakan is not alone. In the 1980s, the Chinese community used to lament so miserably that many MCA leaders were English-educated and hence indifferent to communal needs.

However, a closer look at the vernacular politics reveals that the rise of prominent Mandarin-speaking MCA leaders like Ong Ka Ting was in tandem with the declining influence of the once vibrant and independent civil society. Many clan associations and groups were co-opted, and the Chinese press has become largely emasculated and pro-establishment.

Chinese Malaysians indeed at one time yearned for a leader who could speak the language and feel the pulse of the community, but the myth was broken when Ong openly urged the Chinese to be pragmatic and allow MCA to ‘fight within the system’, an approach that weakened the mobilisation of the Chinese community and emboldened Umno extremists.

Arif Shah - the man

It only goes to show that, while the average Ah Beng and Ah Lian may perceive language as essential in defining their identity, politicians only place emphasis on its instrumentalist values.

In this, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore is a classic example. To win over Chinese-speaking constituencies, he put in huge effort to master both Mandarin and Hokkien (and also Malay to placate Umno leaders who accused him of being a Chinese chauvinist).

Once he had established himself politically and consolidated his rule, Lee showed no qualms in marginalising vernacular education in the island state, and in 1980 forced the closure of Nantah, the only university in Southeast Asia that used Chinese as a medium of instruction, on the pretext that it was ‘a hotbed of communist subversion’.

And the same old trick is being repeated again. After much agonising, Umno finally decided on Arif Shah as its candidate for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election. Throughout a noisy event that sounded more like a rallying cry for a broken army, Arif Shah was touted as the man best-placed to fend off Anwar Ibrahim because of his language skills

arif shah omar shah bn umno candidate for permatang pauh by election 140808 07 I am certainly impressed with Arif Shah’s command of Mandarin, but it is the substance rather than the form that matters most.

Instead of offering the audience a vision, Arif Shah resorted to torment and sorrow when asking for a chance to represent Permatang Pauh, saying “BN is now in a very bad shape” and needed the mandate to serve the people rather desperately.

In a very bad shape? I wish I had got the message wrong. However, listening to his words over and over again, I have not the slightest doubt that this was exactly what Arif Shah was begging in Mandarin.

Never mind that BN is still in control of state resources, even being able to procure 14 units of the Mercedes-Benz E200K at a price of RM3.43 million to replace the Proton Perdana V6 Executive as state exco car, and knowing that a huge amount of money is being invested in the election, Arif Shah has sought to portray his party as an underdog nonetheless.

What is the big deal if Arif Shah’s command of Mandarin is impressive? It is merely a personal issue, and I am more interested in his political ideals and the political entity that he is affiliated with.

So long as BN is mired in its racist ideology and shows no will to initiate far-reaching reforms, I don’t see the merit for it to be given the mandate, not even if some of its members could cast a spell on the crowd using the angelic language.

Sometime ago, I stumbled across the Most Beautiful Language Survey while doing some research. But to me, all languages are only precious and beautiful when they convey the message of peace, love, faith and hope, something that Malaysia badly needs at this point in time.