Beijing Diary: Learning Malay In China

By Amirul Mohd Sajadi Bernama reporter Amirul Mohd Sajadi recently completed a 10-month media exchange programme in Beijing organised by the China International Press Communications Centre. BEIJING, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Rasa sayang hey rasa sayang sayang hey, hey lihat nona jauh rasa sayang sayang hey... the melodious rendition of this highly familiar Malay folk song by a local Chinese girl took this writer by surprise. The song showcases the beauty and inherent values of the Malay language and back home in Malaysia, Rasa Sayang serves as a medium to foster unity among the various races. Meeting Liang Liang, the Chinese girl who crooned the song when the writer met her at her workplace at China Radio International (CRI) here recently, was an eye-opening experience as she not only spoke Bahasa Melayu fluently but was clearly fascinated with the language as well. In fact, Liang, 25, who is from Yunnan in southwest China, has even given herself the moniker Husna to reflect her love for the Malay language. Over the last three years, she has been working as a translator, broadcast journalist and announcer at CRI's Bahasa Melayu broadcast section. HIGHER STUDIES Recalling how she was introduced to the Malay language, Liang said back in her village in Yunnan, school-leavers were encouraged to attend short-term courses to expose them to Asian countries and their languages and cultures. "I came to know about Malaysia and fell in love with the Malay language. The Malay saying ‘tidak kenal maka tidak cinta' (one cannot love something/someone one does not know) is a fitting description of my love for the Malay language," she told Bernama. Not surprisingly, for her tertiary education, Liang chose to pursue Bahasa Melayu studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) where she studied for three years. She also studied for a year at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur in 2016. Liang said at her section at CRI, Bahasa Melayu was the medium of communication among the staff although most of them were Chinese. "We are always helping one another to boost our command of Bahasa Melayu. The interesting thing is, this language has brought us closer to each other," she added. BUSINESS TOOL Liew Huan, a 34-year-old Chinese Muslim retailer, said she took up a short course to learn to speak in Bahasa Melayu at BFSU to enable her to communicate with her Malaysian customers. Liew, whose Malay moniker is Fatimah, has a shop in the tourist district of Dong Cheng in Beijing that sells bedspreads, curtains and fabrics. She has two branches in Beijing and one in Puchong, Selangor, which is run by her Malaysian partner. "I've been in this business for the past 10 years and I meet many Malaysian tourists in my shop. Knowing Malay helps a lot and my Malaysian customers feel at home in my shop," said Liew, who is from Shandong province in east China. "Besides me, my younger sibling also speaks Bahasa Melayu and we often chat in Malay even when we are at home." Based on a report by the Malaysian Education Ministry's Higher Education Department, a total of 16 public universities in China offer courses in Bahasa Melayu to an estimated 600 students annually, proving that the language is highly esteemed globally. Even Nepal recently announced that it plans to introduce Bahasa Melayu as an elective subject in its schools to equip students with the necessary communication skills so that it is easier for them to find jobs in the professional field in Malaysia. There are about 300 million people speaking in the Malay and Indonesian language worldwide. Roziah Adama, who is from Sabah and is a lecturer at BFSU's Bahasa Melayu department, said Malaysians must erase the perception that Bahasa Melayu has no economic value and space in the international arena. "The Prime Minister's Cup International Malay Language Speech Competition, which is held every year, is the benchmark that proves that our national language has a place in the hearts of the world community," she added. Translated by Rema Nambiar -- BERNAMA