I first heard of the incident where this local actress said that she felt stupid if she spoke in Malay. I was shocked that a Malay actually said this. But I had no idea who she was.

The Star, dated 20^th August, had the article “In a fix over language mix”, whereby the identity of the actress was revealed. It turned out to be Sharifah Armani, and quote “I sound like, stupid, if I speak in Malay, so I’ll speak in English”. Bear in mind among the audience was the Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim. And in her defence, Sharifah Armani put her age as factor. I applaud her for asking permission to speak in English. But I believe she chose the wrong way to express herself. Being a Malay whose mother tongue is Bahasa Malaysia, to say that “I feel like, stupid, if I speak in Malay” is like a keris stabbed into a Malay’s heart. If a Chinese or Indian were to make such a statement, there will still be an issue but it will not be as serious as this. Such statements give the impression that she is not proud of her mother tongue, and to speak her mother tongue makes her feel/look stupid.

Now, Ahmad Hafidz Baharom’s blog on 20^th Aug, titled “Language issues…. At an award ceremony…??” questioned as to why this is was such a shocker. I feel that he missed the main issue. It was not an issue whether she used English or Bahasa Malaysia. It was the way she expressed herself, on why she felt she must use English. Note, the very statement that created the controversy – “I sound like, stupid, if I speak Malay, so I’ll speak English”. Maybe she does sound stupid with her co-called youth lingo but this was certainly the wrong way to put it. Perhaps she could say something like “Please let me apologize for speaking English on this important event. Though I am a Malay, I feel my Malay is what many would consider “young Malay” and I do not wish to spoil my speech with it on this important award night.” And perhaps add on with something like “I will work hard to improve my Malay so that I will be able to present myself in proper Malay should I win any awards in future”. A statement like this would score very well with the VIPs that night and they will look at her in a more favorable light.

I do not think the issue here is to force the usage of Malay language at awards ceremony but more on how one expresses oneself. What is the point of knowing so many languages as some of the Malaysians love to brag when you cannot even expresses yourself well even in the language you are supposedly better at? Maturity is the key word. Know how to choose the right word to express yourself. Understand the situation and who the attending parties are. It is not important how good your vocabulary is and how much vocabulary you know but how well you use what you know to express yourself. And that comes with using your brain and maturity!

As for Sepet, initially I did not plan to watch it but I got the chance to. It was a well produced movie and quite controversial too. I liked some of the ideas like Malays love watching the Chinese serial dramas. A lot of our fears were portrayed in the movie and I felt it was a very daring movie. I believe we need more of these movies. But I felt the ending was too sad. Perhaps it is one of the better endings to avoid the scissors.