The International Mother Language Day,
which was proclaimed by UNESCO's General Conference in November 1999, was
celebrated for the first time today in Malaysia
Opening Speech
- "International Mother Language Day- A Malaysian Experience" Forum
by Dr Tan Seng Giaw
(Kuala Lumpur, Friday): The
International Mother Language Day, which was proclaimed by UNESCO's General
Conference in November 1999, was celebrated for the first time today in
Malaysia.
The DAP is the only political party in Malaysia that organised a forum to
mark the 4th IMLD. The other organisation in Malaysia that celebrates the
day is DongJiaoZong.
One may want to ask why the Ministry of Education is not interested at all
to celebrate the IMLD. Or is it because the BN government is still stuck
with its short-sighted, narrow-minded and undemocratic policy of
monolingualism?
When the IMLD was first celebrated in 2000, the UNESCO's Director -General
Mr Kohiro Matsuura stressed that " by deciding to celebrate mother tongues,
UNESCO's Member States wished to recall that languages are not only an
essential part of humanity's cultural heritage, but the irreducible
expression of human creativity and of its great diversity.
Highlighting the fact that close to 6,000 languages are estimated to be
spoken in today's world, Mr Matsuura said:" They testify to humanity's
astounding ability to create tools of communication, to its perception and
reflection. They are the mirrors of the souls of the societies in which they
are born and they reflect the history of their contacts. In this sense, it
could be said that all languages are cross-bred."
He added that " Favouring the promotion of linguistic diversity and the
development of multilingual education from an early age helps preserve
cultural diversity and the conditions for international understanding,
tolerance and mutual respect.
In a message read at the ceremony, UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan expressed support
for IMLD, which, he said, raises awareness among all peoples regarding the
value of languages. Reaffirming the importance of preserving language
diversity, he called for increased efforts to conserve languages as a shared
heritage of humanity.
To night, we have the prestige to have some very distinguished speakers to
share with us their enormous experience in the field of mother language
education. Professor Syed Hussein Alatas, Mr Elangheliyan, Cikgu Loot Tin
Yee, Saudara Lim Kit Siang. These are the fine gentlemen who have
relentlessly devoted their energy and time for the love of mother tongues.
For the conservation of mother tongues education, some of them have paid a
very heavy price. Even incarcerated under detention. Certain quarters
labelled them as "chauvinists","extremists", and "not patriotic". Say what
they like, their contributions and sacrifices have helped the community and
the country in many ways, and very much appreciated by all of us. Now,
please join me to put our hands together for a true Malaysian experience in
the development of mother languages.
(21/2/2003)
*
Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, DAP Education Bureau
Chairman and National Publicity Secretary
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