Now when Penang is holding its George Town Literary Festival again – and I have no doubt that it will be an even greater success than before – let me ponder over what I think is one of the most important things that have failed to develop properly in post-colonial Malaysia, namely our mastery of language.
We like to say that we master languages when, most of the time, we are mastered by languages. Now, becoming really good at expressing oneself in words is of course an accomplishment that any individual should be proud of. This is all the greater an achievement when the society in which one functions is not a decidedly literate one. By the latter claim, I mean that Malaysians tend to be functional instead of literate in their command of language; socialising in their orientation instead of being contemplative; rebuking instead of encouraging; and partisan in their values instead of being impartial.
The thing is, language perpetuates modes of thought and defines our character. This is good in some ways, of course, but it is also limiting. Focusing on functionality in language use leads to repetitive thought and unimaginative problem-solving. In the end, it encourages a “get-it-over-and-done-with” hit-and-run mentality. Stay-and-communicate is what we need instead.
