Malay language platform for unification of countries within region - Perlis Raja Muda

From Ahmad Muliady Abdul Majid

PHUKET (THAILAND) Aug 6 (Bernama) -- Efforts to uplift the Malay language need to be intensified to ensure it remains strong in the face of modernity, said the Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail.

He said this was because the Malay language has served as a platform for national unification as well as a symbol of the identity of citizens of several countries in the region.

“Looking back at history, the Malay language is widely used in Southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia,” he said when officiating the Semarak Bahasa programme organised by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perlis Branch and the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) at Sekolah Muslim Wittaya Phuket, here today.

The programme is a pocket event under MAIPs’ three-day Ziarah Mahabbah programme to Phuket, Thailand from Aug 5.

Also present were Perlis state secretary Datuk Seri Hasnol Zam Zam Ahmad; Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) director-general Datuk Abang Salehuddin Abang Shokeran; UiTM Perlis rector Associate Professor Dr Shukor Sanim Mohd Fauzi; MAIPs chief executive officer Mohd Nazim Mohd Noor and Sekolah Muslim Wittaya Phuket principal Kitti Islam.

Tuanku Syed Faizuddin who is also MAIPs president said that in line with the latest global development, a breath of fresh air is needed in the process of learning and teaching of the Malay language in the region.

“The teaching process needs to be improved with value-added techniques or activities such as through the use of the latest technologies and applications that can attract students to learn and master the Malay language,” he said.

Tuanku Syed Faizuddin also expressed hope that the cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand would continue to be strengthened in the future.

-- BERNAMA