Kam Raslan’s Talking Edge

(Reprinted from The Edge – Options pullout, 3 October 2016 issue)

Dear Kam,
Is it my imagination or did something happen at the United Nations General Assembly? I didn’t really pay much attention to the event.
Citizen blur

Our prime minister could not go to the recent UN General Assembly in New York, so our deputy prime minister (DPM) went instead to speak to the world. And it turns out, our DPM does not speak English very well. He spoke with gusto and confidence in this alien language but his phrasing and pronunciation were very, er, awkward. Is that a problem? Is it a bad thing, or even a good thing?

The internet swiftly weighed in with its opinion. Many said that it was embarrassing; some said the DPM should be congratulated for having the courage to jump into a language that is not his own; some said he should have proudly spoken in the national language instead; and some said the quality of his speaking is irrelevant and that we should be concentrating on the substance of the text. To the last point I would say, whatever.

There have been hundreds of speeches at dozens of UN General Assemblies and I don’t think any of us can remember any of them. World leaders only use General Assembly speeches for one of two reasons — to say that everything is going just great in their own country and that they are America’s best friend forever, so nothing to see here, move along, or to show the US the finger. Oh, and to do some shopping in New York. I don’t really care what anybody says at the UN General Assembly and none of us should pretend that it is an important date in the calendar, but I do care about the way they say it, if they are Malaysian.

I know I sound like a stupid child in Malay because I speak it so badly. It is called infantilisation. The DPM is clearly a very smart man, as evidenced by the way he has managed to negotiate the dangerous waters of Malaysian politics with great skill, and there is every chance that he will become our next PM (although, as we all know, it does not always follow that the DPM becomes the PM). Unfortunately, no matter how smart you are, speaking in an unknown language is instantly infantilising. It can open you up to ridicule and then you will probably retreat back to your preferred language.

I would hate it if Malaysians who are struggling with learning English see an important man have the courage to tackle this difficult language and then be shot down and ridiculed. Part of me wants to congratulate him for going for it, but another part of me is stunned that we should allow the UN General Assembly to be the stage upon which one practises one’s English. Hopefully, the DPM will show his mettle by steadfastly improving his spoken English (unlike my cowardly attempts with Malay), but I am going to guess that he will be angered by the responses to his speech and will retreat back to his preferred languages.

People do have their pride, after all. And Malaysians who can speak English well can sound so haughty and condescending when judging those who cannot. (I am guilty of that.) I did not have to make any effort whatsoever to learn English and it came to me as naturally as sucking my thumb and pooping in my nappies. On my Malay side, I am the third or possibly fourth generation to be able to speak English, and on my British side, it might be the same (them British really don’t speak it like the way it is supposed to be spoke). English is a bizarre and difficult language and I am impressed by anybody who has the courage and mental capacity to be able to learn it as a second language, because I don’t know if I could. If English is an important language (and it is) then I just got lucky, and so did Malaysia.

For decades in Malaysia, the English language has been ignored, belittled, demonised and even treated as if its use is unpatriotic. The absolute objective truth is that it is a historically legitimate Malaysian language. (I’m not even going to pretend to substantiate that bold statement because it just obviously is.) So many Malaysians speak English incredibly well and by a complete stroke of luck it just so happens that English is the pre-eminent global language. If, back in the 18th century, Britain had not won the Seven Years’ War and therefore won America, then it could have been the French or even Dutch, in which case we would now be screwed. But it is English, which means many of us can watch reruns of the A-Team without needing to read the subtitles. To squander that good fortune strikes me as being a pointlessly reckless plan. The plan should be to build upon our good fortune to give Malaysia an enduring edge over our competitors. It would be a simple plan and, to quote John “Hannibal” Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together”.

Oh Kam,
I know it shouldn’t be our problem but I’m worried that America will vote for Donald Trump. Do I need to say why?
Worrisome reader

Watching the US presidential election as a non-American is like watching a big truck driving towards you at high speed. The truck driver might be drunk, or asleep, or maybe even the greatest truck driver of all time. But whichever it is, you have no control over the situation and just have to hope for the best. In this election, one potential driver is capable and the other is a stupid, dangerous loudmouth.

But Donald Trump is very popular and it makes me wonder if I am mad. He says something inflammatory and five seconds later, denies that he ever said it. A lot of people do not seem to notice or care that he adheres to a completely contradictory set of “beliefs” at the same time. It is possible to do that in Malaysia because you can say one thing in English and the opposite in Malay and both would appear to be equally true. But in America, it is all in English, so how is it possible? Have I gone mad?

Fortunately, Hillary Clinton performed well at the first presidential debate. Hopefully, when Americans vote, they will not make the rest of us feel like we have gone mad.

Reprinted with the kind permission of