STANDARDISED MALAY PRONUNCIATION IN SCHOOLS (Introduction)

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Mr Umar Abdul Hamid asked the Minister for Education if there is any plan to implement "Bahasa Baku" in the school curriculum.

The Minister of State for Education (Encik Sidek bin Saniff) (for the Minister for Education): Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister.

The Ministry of Education will introduce the standardised Malay pronunciation (Sebutan Baku) in primary schools with effect from 1993 and in secondary schools and junior colleges with effect from 1994. This move is to enable us to keep pace with the developments in the Malay Language in the region. Oral examinations based on the standardised pronunciation will be gradually phased in. The first examinations based on this pronunciation system will be held in 1997 for 'N', '0' and 'A' level candidates and in 1998 for PSLE candidates. Training sessions will be conducted for teachers later this year to equip them with the knowledge to teach the standardised Malay pronunciation.

Mr Umar Abdul Hamid (Ang Mo Kio GRC): Sir, may I be allowed to ask supplementary questions in Malay, please?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Mr Umar Abdul Hamid: ( In Malay): Mr Speaker, I have three supplementary questions. Firstly, could the Minister of State give a background of the development of standardised Malay pronunciation in the neighbouring countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei? Secondly, what role can the mass media or the electronic media play in promoting the standardised Malay pronunciation? And thirdly, once we have achieved our objective of introducing "Sebutan Baku", can we not play a more active role by being a member of the Malaysia-Indonesia-Brunei Malay Language Committee (MABBIM)?

Encik Sidek bin Saniff: ( In Malay): Mr Speaker, there are four countries involved in the move to standardise Malay pronunciation. Indonesia started it way back in 1928, following the Youth Pledge: one people, one nation, one language. For Brunei, there is no problem because their pronunciation is already standardised on the basis of spelling. The difference, if at all, is that they pronounce the schwa sound as if the word is spelt with an 'a'. But they follow the correct pronunciation once they switch to standard Malay.

The problem really lies in two countries - Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia has been taking a cautious approach. They started it in 1988 and expect the process to take about 15 years. We, too, have gone into it very cautiously. As I have stated earlier, we would begin next year with the primary schools and the following year with the secondary schools. And the oral examinations would be conducted only when our primary school children have gone through six years of education, and those in secondary school have gone through four, using this pronunciation.

I think this cautious approach is necessary because we do not want to unsettle the public. For myself and my colleagues in the Ministry, our targets are the school children, and only after them will we go on to the public. Of course, if the public can use the standardised pronunciation in formal settings, I think that would be ideal. Mr Mah Bow Tan, for example, became the first, when he closed the Malay Language Month, to use not just Malay but standardised Malay pronunciation, in such a formal ceremony.

Secondly, on the mass media, I think we have to be even more cautious here. Right now, in Malaysia, for example, this cautiousness has been evident. They do not use standardised pronunciation over radio, particularly in news reading, especially on television. They use standardised pronunciation only on TV3 - commercial TV. Even in Malaysia, if I could quote a language writer, Zakariah Mohd Yassin, he believes it would take the electronic media at least 10 years. So I think we are looking at 1998, as far as the Malaysian electronic media or TV is concerned.

On our part, I think we can do it step by step, carefully, while meeting our expectations. We could perhaps start with a programme over radio or television that uses standardised pronunciation. But where it concerns something that is open to the larger population, eg, the news, I think two things need to be done. Firstly, we look to Malaysia for the signal; and secondly, we go about it in an even more meticulous manner.

On the third question, I think this point has been raised many times, even recently when I attended the MABBIM meeting. The stalwarts, Malaysia and Indonesia, have been encouraging Singapore to raise its participation status, from mere observer to full membership. I would raise this issue with my colleague, the Minister for Information and the Arts, BG Yeo, so that we could look into this together.

Encik Ibrahim bin Othman (Thomson GRC) (In Malay - Sebutan Baku): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State what measures will be taken by the Ministry to train teachers in order that they could teach this pronunciation more effectively. Secondly, what is the Minister of State's view on the usage of standardised pronunciation over radio and television? And thirdly, what programmes does the Minister have in mind to encourage the public to use the standardised pronunciation correctly?

Encik Sidek bin Saniff (In Malay - Sebutan Baku): Mr Speaker, since Encik Ibrahim Othman has used the standardised pronunciation, I guess I will have to do the same.

Concerning the measures, as I said earlier, a seminar would be conducted later this year for primary and secondary school teachers. The four-day seminar will be organised with the cooperation of foreign experts, possibly two from Malaysia and one from Indonesia. Secondly, for radio, as I said earlier, we are going to go about it cautiously. We hope to discuss with SBC the idea of launching some programmes relating to the standardised pronunciation. As for further measures, we are looking into them in detail now. I have identified certain areas and have been working them out together with our officials over the past several months. In fact, we had our latest discussion yesterday. And I hope to be able to announce the plans once they are finalised.

Encik Harun bin A. Ghani (Hong Kah GRC): ( In Malay): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State why we have to walk in the shadows of Malaysia in this regard. Why must we wait for Malaysia to take the initiative when we can do it as soon as possible?

Encik Sidek bin Saniff: ( In Malay): Thank you for the question. I think the national component in Malaysia is ethnically the same as us, but the socio-political position is different. For the moment, that is our stand, as stated earlier. They contain a larger population. We are only about 3 million. Secondly, this cautious approach is perhaps inspired by our Foreign Affairs Ministry - when we were going to recognise China, for example, we waited until Indonesia had taken the first step. So I think, in this regard, it is better to give way. We wait until Malaysia has finalised everything on its part. Then our wheels of implementation can move more smoothly.

12.40 pm