A matter of language and nation-building

THE Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was quoted by The Borneo Post of Dec 13, 2025, as having reiterated that the ‘mastery of the BM (Bahasa Melayu) must come first’.

As the chief executive of the government and the boss of a political party in power in the country, it is his privilege to remind every Malaysian of the importance of learning the national language well.

I have heard this mantra for over 60 years.

From conversations with friends in MCA and MIC, I had learnt a lot about why their leaders had agreed to the Umno’s proposal to recognise BM as the national language of the Federation of Malaya.

Many Chinese wanted Mandarin to be one of the national languages; MCA leaders dropped the idea in return for the freedom to teach Mandarin in Chinese schools.

So only the Malay language was to be the ‘Bahasa Kebangsaan’ (National Language), aimed at making it as an instrument by which all Malayans would be united as one people.

It was also to be the language of the national anthem, as well as the lingua franca for daily interactions between Malayans of all races and creeds.

This ‘national status’ was to be written in black and white into the Constitution of Malaya.

Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak

When Project Malaysia was being mooted, the new federation comprising Malaya, the state of Singapore, the British colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak, must have a constitution of its own.

The enlarged federation, now called Malaysia, had no constitution as such before 1963.

So, the Malayan constitution was considered as a good model for Malaysia.

With the necessary modifications, Article 152 is the product of ‘cut-and-paste’, fully entrenched and enshrined in the Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia.

The national language, I submit, is not the only instrument for unity; there are many other factors that can be made into unifying factors.

This Unity Government’s policies are supposed to be grounded on the Madani principles.

I say that the federal government, any federal government, should be pragmatic in terms of its strategy on the ground, if it wants to retain support and win the hearts and minds of the people of Malaysia from the Borneo states.

They consider themselves as partners, rather than ‘states among the states’.

‘Strike the happy medium’

The governing authorities must aim at striking the happy medium as a practicable public policy without undermining the foundations of the supreme law of the nation.

They should think in terms of the Constitution as being made for every Malaysian, and not every Malaysian for the law.

A public policy is not the same as a political policy.

The difference is invisible to the naked eye, except that of a political analyst.

The former takes precedence over the latter: pragmatic, down-to-earth approach in terms of the administration of the affairs of a multilingual society like ours.

It is a bit late in the day to wish for a Malaysia composed only of one racial group professing one religion.

Malaysia is different – multilingual and multi-religious.

The citizens in such a country have no choice but to live in harmony, communicating with each other in more languages than one.

They will speak in Bahasa Melayu, write letters in that language and sing in that language, but also sing in Iban the famous song by Wilson Ngalai, and write in the languages of all ethnic groups in the population.

This is Malaysia as it should be.

If the Federation of Malaya had not been transformed into the Federation of Malaysia incorporating North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore as partners, it would have been possible to insist on one language and one religion, but Malaysia of today is not the same as Malaya was in the 1950s.

This is being repetitious, I know, but it is my way of emphasis.

This enlarged federation is a fait accompli. Warts and all, it is still my nation, my sole object of loyalty, and I am not the only one having this sentiment.

Government is basically built on several pillars called institutions – in our case, they are the ‘Monarchy’; the ‘Executive (Administration)’; the ‘Judiciary’, the law enforcement apparatus; ‘Defence and Security Establishment’, and the ‘People’.

Language alone has not enough strength to support the structure of this nation. Dismantle one or two of the institutions, the whole country would be in real trouble.

Such a multiracial country needs multilingual people. The process of nation-building is long – like a road, it is full of bends and corners and potholes.

National interests, however important these may be, are best served if individual group interests are adequately catered for.

That is not easy to achieve, but given the will to succeed, Malaysia will celebrate its centenary if we start preparing for the celebrations now.

Importance of Sarawak and Sabah to the Federation

With reference to Sarawak, for instance, the state’s interests – including language interests – are crucial.

This point was expressly highlighted by Lord Cobbold, chairman of the Commission by the same name.

Lord Cobbold found it necessary to put it into writing: “It is a necessary condition that from the outset Malaysia should be regarded as an association of partners, combining in the common interest to create a new nation by retaining their own individualities.

“If any idea is to take root that Malaysia would involve a ‘take-over’ of the Borneo territories by the Federation of Malaya and the submersion of the individualities of North Borneo and Sarawak, Malaysia would not in my judgement, be generally acceptable or successful.”

Two of the most important ‘individualities’ include the power of the Sarawak government over immigration, and the use of the English language in schools and government offices.

Peninsular Malaysians who talk and think in terms of the Federation as a unitary state where Sarawakians are obliged to toe the federal line and be subject to federal policies, they should know how to treat us with respect as equal partners.

Through various means practical, all Malaysians should learn as many languages as possible, and all school students should be advised, for their own good, to master at least three languages: Bahasa Melayu, English and Mandarin – not forgetting their own mother tongues.

Citizens who can speak and write more than one language are an asset to their country.

I am not proposing that in Malaysia there must be more than one national language.

Bahasa Melayu shall retain its position as the main unifying factor, but the use and study of other languages must not be discouraged or restricted.

The languages and dialects of the various ethnic groups constitute the pillars, the beams and the struts that help support and strengthen the whole structure of Malaysia.