Don't hold Mat Sabu's poor English against him

COMMENT | I am a ‘banana’. If that is a nickname for a Chinese who is unable to speak or read Mandarin, then I am one. I’m not proud of my limitations in handling the lingo, so a banana I am.

I can manage speaking Mandarin, but reading is a problem. That’s a little consolation for my bruised ego. However, I have only myself to blame for not picking up Mandarin at an early age.

Actually, a ‘banana’, which is yellow on the outside, but white inside, is a term for an Asian person living in a Western country who has lost touch with the cultural identity of his or her parents, according to Wikipedia.

I wouldn’t consider that a racist nick. Locally, we have accepted that in reference to the Chinese. I wouldn’t go into the nicknames for other races here, but in America, other cultures also earned their own nicknames such as Indians as ‘apples’ and blacks as ‘Oreo cookies’.

So what’s in a nickname? Let’s accept whatever nicknames in jest and in good faith and have a chuckle over them. That will do us good. I can accept I am a ‘banana’.

That brings me to Wee Ka Siong’s dig at Mohamad Sabu’s poor English when the defence minister spoke at the 18th IISS Asia Security Summit Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore on June 1.

The MCA president is both right and wrong. Firstly, if I were the president of a party, I would refrain from taking potshots at a fellow politician’s poor command of a language which is not his mother tongue. That would not be gentlemanly of me to do so. It borders on a personal attack and should be avoided.

Then again, others in Pakatan Harapan have also criticised former DPM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (above) for his poor command of English when he addressed the UN some years ago.

This is what opposing politicians do - pick on each other’s faults and weaknesses. So, I wouldn’t want to speak too unkindly of Wee on his criticism of Mat Sabu too. He is, after all, a politician. It’s his job to find fault with the opposing side, as most politicians do.

Wee’s statement that Mat Sabu had embarrassed the country with his poor command of English is not totally out of line to me. On the international stage, we expect our leaders to be respected and held in high esteem. The ability to speak well and hold the audience’s attention is necessary. That means possessing a good command of the language, which is English in the international arena.

Of course, it would be ideal to have good English speakers like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar Ibrahim or Najib Razak, but that would be expecting too much from all Malaysian leaders.

The irony is that Mat Sabu is a known orator. He is a good public speaker. He is serious when he talks about policies and ideologies and extremely witty in throwing punch lines. In humour, he is like no other.

Not everyone is blessed with oratory skills. This is something recognised by all who have to speak regularly at public events, especially politicians. So don’t make a fool of yourself by trying too hard on the stage. Learn from Mat Sabu or Anwar or Lim Kit Siang.

Put Wee and Mat Sabu in a head-to-head debate in Bahasa Malaysia and there is no doubt as to who will emerge the winner. But Wee deserves credit too, as he is also versatile in Bahasa.

Mat Sabu has my utmost respect. His poor English aside, he is a no-nonsense politician, honest and humble. I don’t think he is egotistical in any way, even as a minister. He is still the same Mat Sabu, as those close to him will tell you.

I have yet to hear anyone saying anything negative about the defence minister. The most important thing is that ministers must not be corrupt or abuse their power. If Mat Sabu is able to stay clear on that, what is poor English?

It would be too much to expect Mat Sabu to know the proper usage of adjectives, nouns, verbs and tenses in his off-the-cuff remarks. He has said that he doesn’t even have a college degree.

Thus, I think it is not right to hold Mat Sabu’s poor command of the language against him. His actions, moving on the straight path, staying away from the temptations of dirty dealings and making the right calls, are more important.

I will judge Mat Sabu on that, certainly not on his poor English.

FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com

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