KUCHING: What is the reply to “4 push two”? And what does restroom imply?
Amid the uproar over the usage of English, a few humorous anecdotes shared by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg served to focus on the significance of mastering the language.
“There was a Bahasa Malaysia instructor who needed to train a Mathematics class sooner or later when the Mathematics instructor was on sick depart.
“He requested the scholars, ‘4 push two, what’s the reply?’ Actually he was asking ’empat tolak dua’.
“He didn’t say subtract or minus however ‘push’ as a result of he didn’t know the best way to say it in English,” he mentioned to loud laughs from the viewers.
Abang Johari additionally instructed one other joke about an alternate between a international vacationer and a tour information who was not fluent in English.
“The vacationer was searching for a restroom. He requested the tour information, ‘ Can you present me your restroom?’
“The tour information confirmed him to a settee. ‘No, I need a restroom,’ the foreigner mentioned. The information replied, ‘You can relaxation right here.’
“His English was so poor that the vacationer needed to actually point out what he needed. Only then did the information perceive that he was searching for a rest room.”
Abang Johari associated the jokes in his closing speech on the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) conference final month.
Amid laughter from the delegates, he mentioned this was why English was necessary.
“We have to be proficient in each Bahasa Malaysia and English,” he mentioned.
Abang Johari has additionally defended Sarawak’s proper to make use of English together with Bahasa Malaysia for communication.
He mentioned the State’s resolution to retain English as a second official language after Bahasa Malaysia didn’t go towards nationwide coverage however was in line with the Federal Constitution.
The use of English has come beneath assault in latest days, with PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang labelling those that most well-liked English over Bahasa Malaysia as being trapped in a colonial mindset.
Last month, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) board of governors chairman Datuk Seri Awang Sariyan proposed that those that don’t respect the nationwide language be fined up to RM50,000 or jailed by means of a number of authorized amendments.
In May, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Zuki Ali known as for the Public Service Department to contemplate punitive measures to implement the usage of Bahasa Malaysia in the civil service.
