Why Bahasa Malaysia is a dying language?/ Mengapa Bahasa Melayu dalam keadaan tenat?

Bahasa Melayu

Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of Malaysia. It's spoken mainly by the native as well as Malaysians of other races. Because it's an official language, it's the medium of instruction in schools and universities. It's also the language of the Court and the language that is used by the majority of Malaysians albeit officially. Although it's recognized as an official language by the Federal Constitution,  the so called language of unity is actually dying. Below are my take on why Bahasa Malaysia is actually a dying language despite the recognition given to it by the government.

# Bahasa Malaysia is  not widely used 

One of the reasons why Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Melayu is a dying language is because it's not used as a popular language in the country. Most people in Malaysia actually use English. Practically, everybody nowadays uses English. Just browse the internet and you will notice that youngsters are using English everywhere. Just a handful of them use Bahasa Malaysia in it's corrupt version-meaning code switching. The same holds true for Instagram. They all use English. If go to the blogs , most of the established blogs or the blogs that people with high income or educated read  are actually written in English. The extent use of English is Malaysia is very worrying. Once I went to Korea and I met several Koreans who were learning Bahasa Melayu and they told me that they wanted to go to Indonesia to learn Bahasa Melayu because its' difficult to find people in Malaysia willing to use Bahasa Melayu to speak to them in our mother tongue.

Bahasa Melayu as a language of unity?

# Influential people use English instead of Bahasa Malaysia

If tourists ever come to Malaysia , they will notice that most politicians and high ranking officials only use English. You will be surprised that most of the elite in Malaysia make English as their first language. Bahasa Melayu is still their mother tongue but somehow their main language at home is English. Najib Razak uses English at home. Most of the schoolchildren of the ministers including the Malays use English. Most of the important meetings at the state and federal levels are conducted in English. Sometimes the KSUs (Chief secretary General and the VIPS would order the departments to send their reps at the ministry level meeting people who are proficient in English. They themselves would conduct the meeting in English with one or two sentences at the beginning of the meeting. Sadly in a meeting to upgrade the standard of Malay or Bahasa Melyu is also conducted in English. Only a few ministers who support the use of Malay and these include ex deputy Prime Minister Muhyidin Yassin and Minister of Culture Rais Yatim. Najib Razak in his meetings would just do it in English. He's more at home using  English than Malay.

# The importance of Bahasa Melayu is diminishing

Bahasa Melayu has lost its importance in Malaysia. English is the language considered very important. This is because in almost all the ministries and departments  the people are using English. All the important meetings are conducted in English. Even in the university the faculty meetings are conducted mainly in English . This is sad but true. The most powerful newspaper in Malaysia is not a Malay newspaper but English. Most advertisers tend to advertise in English newspapers rather than in Malay newspaper.  Even in the private sectors where not many people are fluent in English the main for of communication is done in English If you notice even the hyper market announcements are made in English. Just a few days ago in a bid to get rid of Muhyidin's Yasin's influence the government has approved the dual track language program that allows schools to use English to teach Maths and Science subjects. It seems that theres a group in the government which is going all out to promote English in schools at the expense of Bahasa Melayu. They manage to secure hundreds of millions of ringgit to start their their program , They are expecting up to 3000 schools to take part in the program. Bahasa Melayu is only used as a political tool by aspiring politicians .

# Bahasa Malaysia / Bahasa Melayu has lost its status

Bahasa Melayu used to be very strong when we achieved independence. It was thought as a unifying language for Malaysia. But somehow it was not to be . The status of Bahasa Malaysia has gone south. It's still being used by some people but the status of the language has diminished into a language of the needy , the criminal, language of the poor as well as the language used by the low class people. The language that is used among the intelligentsia is English, The language used at important meeting like the cabinet meeting is English. Bahasa Malaysia is now used by the majority of the poor people. The rich or the educate will only used English. The importance of English is also propagated by the non. Malays. because they refuse to be identified with anything that is Malay. They want only;y English or their mother tongue.

This is the state of the affair of Bahasa Melayu. It's showcased as an important language but it's actually dying a slow death. The agency tasked to protect it is useless and powerless. I'm not surprised one day it will be a language only remembered by the linguists and only treasured in the language museum.

Why some women deserved to become invisible in their 50s / Wanita 50an hilang seri

women in their 50s

Today, I've to admit that I'm sexist -not sexy. Generally, I'm not sexist but I have to say some thing about women in their 50s. I've been so eager to delve on the topic since I reached the magic no 50 but to no avail until at this moment.I have to say that men including me normally don't give a second glance to women above 50. That's their so called women's expiry date. Men probably don't have that used by date . We are still good looking even after the age of 60. Girls still call us Abang even after half a century old. I know my wife will scream at me if she reads this. Well I know the women will refute what ever that I have written here but the truth is that we look and aged later and better  than women. Below is my 'partial' view on why I don't like some women who are in their 50s. I have to admit that most of the points are actually generalizations and without any empirical evidence and strictly armchair kind of observation. So girls please forgive me for my follies:

# Trying to act as if they are still in the early 30s

How many women in the 50 s you see trying hard to look and act younger ? I see bus loads of them in Bangi. If you go to Bangi Central not far from where I live , is where you find will find all the expensive boutiques  and you will see a lot of them in their flashy cars parking haphazardly and you what they are busy  buying the latest clothing. Buying nice clothes is ok but buying clothes for young people in their 30s in another thing all together. I believe that these women are in the stage of denial and they could not accept the fact that they are half a century old already. You can see all the wrinkles and the eye bags being masked by heavy make-ups. They still think they are terribly young and acting like young women  . You will see them wearing Bengals like young people.If I were these women I tell them 50s is nice no  but please act like a 50 year old woman who is wiser, smarter and can still be beautiful in your own way. Please be beautiful appropriately.Please don't ever think that you are still sexy and young and that guys would just swarm you around or start asking for your phone number. I really get turn off seeing women wearing sexy leotard trying to show off their so called shapes what ever that means. Women have difficulty of accepting the fact that their beauty diminishes with time. Ageing is actually positive living and accepting it is something beautiful. You have to accept that you grow old and hence you  dress and act appropriately according to your age.

# Not paying attention to their appearance

I don't know what happened to some women , they just do not give a damn about their appearances. Some just don't give a shit about  how they look to the husband and to the people around them. Cant they dress nicely and appropriately  as people still observe how they look. You will see that some of them just put on the instant shawl and their butterfly dresses and sometimes  in baggy and frumpy clothes without any make-up what so ever. They have the attitude that "well I have the man already and children are all grown ups- who needs to get dressed". This is really a bad attitude to adopt for mature women. You can still look beautiful at your age. Wherever you go whether for a short trip to the pasar or shopping center please dressed nicely and look smart.

# They just don't take care of their body

Being 50s is not a death sentence . You can still have that beauty in you. That why your husband is still there for you. But sadly most Malaysian women that I met just could not care less about their body. They all look like a wine barrel-not shapely at all.They practically stop taking care the their body.They just don't care about making them sexy  or beautiful at 50. What they do is just to pile on the fattening calories by chewing on anything that they could find The funny thing is that when they were in their 20 they were so shapely and sexy but they added on 50 kilos by the time they reach that 50 number. most of the time the husband is very accepting but with so many beautiful girls around that is very challenging for any men. I don't thing the husband is looking for a girl that is as as shapely as Neelofa but he sees the women he will appreciate her.

# They don't take care of their femininity

Do you notice that the women in their 50s are getting more like men. They also talk like men. They shout when they talk and they talk loud especially when they are in their group. Sometimes they do act like Samsemg They talk as if no one is listening to them They walk like they are asking for someone for a  fight . They don't put on the make up and they don't take care of their skin . They don't like to put any lipstick. Their sensitivity as a woman is just gone with the wind. Sad but true.

This is not about women bashing . This is not about targeting women above 50s. This is just a gentle reminder that you can still look pretty with some change in  attitude and personality. Wee guys to also need to look good..

Will Barisan Nasional (National Coalition) lose in GE 14? / Adakah BN akan kalah dalam Pilihanraya 14?

GE 14 Malaysia

GE 14:Who will win the election?

The 14th general  election (GE 14) will be held before August  2018. THE  ISSUE THAT EVERY ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IS WHETHER BN (the ruling coalition) WILL RETAIN PUTRAJAYA. My answer to this is a cautious YES. I believe BN will be like LDP of Japan. I believe it will lose a lot of seats , Malay and Chinese seats. The political situation in Malaysia is as hazy as the haze that is enveloping the country. The  political climate in the country looks very gloomy  . Despite being gloomy , the race relation among the various ethnic groups is very stable and strong. Only  small elements in the opposing parties (opposition and ruling coalition) would want to play the race card. I don't think Malaysians would want a repeat of May 13- a big race riot in 1969. The younger generation in Malaysia is overall race or color blind and very moderate in their political approach and they say they see things. The young are definitely  very pragmatic and modern. This is my take on why BN would lose Putrajaya in the next election.

BN will lose?

1. The Najib Razak factor. Najib is the main reason why Barisan Nasional (the ruling government) would be defeated. Najib has not come out in full force and transparent manner to inform and explain to  the rakyat (public) as to how he gets the 2.6 billion ringgit into his personal account. He has not explained clearly and explicily as who has given or donated the money into his account . Najib calims that he use the money only for the parties and not or his personal use. All the answers given by his ministers are vague , inadequate and sometimes outright  funny. He has not spoken explicitly and clearly the issue surrounding the IMDB investment. He has not said anything about the the money in the opening of the  Dewan Rakyat ( Parliament) today and all the answers to the questions were answered by his deputy finance minister.

Najib factor

2. Corruption.  Another reason for the defeat is the perceived rampant corruption by the ruling party. It's perceived by the rakyat that the ruling government in beset by systemic corruption in all fronts. The feeling is also that the government is not taking a very aggressive stance to fight corruption. The issue of corruption is left hanging with no actions (eg Mara, a department to look after the Bumiputeras and Felda,a huge government backed  plantation holding). Only the small fish are given the punishment. The sharks are all let go where as the small fish are given the maximum sentencing.

3. Luxury life of the political leaders. Malaysia is a country well known for its large number of people in the middle class group. Its GDP is around US 12,000  The are thousands of rich people (millionaires and billionaires) but they don't overtly display or flaunt their wealth. So the political leaders should also be modest but this is not the case. They show their Birkin hand bags, the flaunt their jewelry and expensive watches, They show their massive palaces and expensive cars, yachts  and jets. Where do they get the money? How much do they earn? The ordinary Malaysians have been asking all these questions.

4. The Internet factor. This is another importation factor that decides who wins the next election. Previously, the ruling government has a tight reign on the media. Today and at present this is not the case. The government could not hide any of their actions. Every bad moment and bad actions are on  the internet or Facebook or in the Instagram almost instantaneously. The opposition cannot claim that they are not given publicity as they get all of it. The ruling government is totally outclassed and decimated in this fight. The opposition parties have the upper hand. The pro government machinery is totally outclassed by the pro opposition bloggers and the RBA (red bean armies- pro-DAP or opposition members).

These are the main factors that  decide on the demise of the BN in Malaysia. In order for Barisan Nasional to continue ruling the country they have to work with PAS. Most of the fence sitters and disgruntled UMNO members will give their  votes to  PAS. I think PAS will get the majority of the seats in the parliament. DAP will only retain Penang and some Chnese majority seats in Perak and JOHOR. Amanah, the PAS splinter group will be totally decimated. They are the puppets of DAP who is longing to take over Putrajaya. Without PAS in the Pakatan Harapan , the dream just fades away

Tempat tempat menarik di Bangi 2015 / Interesting places to visit in Bangi

Interesting places to visit in Bangi / Tempat tempat menarik untuk di lawati di Bangi

Uptown Bangi

1. Uptown Bangi

This is the place to visit whenever you are in Bangi. The Uptown is located not far from Econsave Hypermarket. The Uptown Bangi opens every night except for Monday night . The best time to go and visit the uptown is after 9 pm at night as before that the stalls are not set up yet and they are doing just that. A few of the makan stalls would have already open to receive the guests. What can you have at the uptown? Well there lots of stall selling various types of items such as clothes, mobile accessories, food and services such as foot massages. Among the food stall the best is the stall that sells real Pad Thai noodles. The noodles are prepared by Thai cooks brought to the uptown by the stall owners. The Pad Thai sells for RM 6. There's also a stall selling delicious nasi lemak for 1 ringgit.

Taman Tasik Cempaka Bangi

2. Taman Tasik Cempaka

This is the man made lake that is situated right in the middle of Bangi town. It's a very nice place to bring kids in the afternoon. There is a kid's play area at the lake. There's also a nice jogging track encircling the lake . But the best time to jog is in the morning around 7.30 am where you will see a lot of mature  and senior citizens jogging, exercising and stretching their legs. If you come on Sunday there are a group of senior citizen doing their slow abut painful and very tiring Tai Chi slow dance. You are always invited to join them. They are identified by their brown colored attire.

3. Bakar Bakar restaurant and Restoran Temerloh Section 8

If you love food you will love Bangi. Bangi is now a food heaven by anybody's standard. The latest additions are Bakar Bakar restaurant- a steamboat and grill restaurant very much like Seoul garden restaurant. You are expected to spend RM 45 ringgit per pax at the restaurant. They serve seafood and meat. The place is quite comfortable and big. I would advise you to come right after Maghrib prayers but no later than 8 pm. Later than that you might not be able to secure a place to dine in. Another place to dine in or a place to have your lunch is the Restoran Temerloh. The place is famous for Tempoyak Ikan Patin and the sambal tempoyak is really a blast. I believe you will enjoy your lunch there.Please bring your family member too. it's like eating dishes prepared by your mom or your mother in law.

Bangi Gateway

4. Bangi Gateway

There is a new shopping complex in Bangi. The place is famous if you want to stroll around. The shopping complex houses Burger King and Jusco supermarket among others. This is also a place that caters to  Muslim Chinese food. It is located on the second floor of the shopping Complex. There is also a western diner that caters to people who love western food. Burgers, steaks and pizzas are served there. The prices are slightly on the expensive side but the portions are reasonably big. It will easily fill the empty stomach of a average Asian person.

Masjid Hasanah Bangi

5. Masjid Hasanah and other big mosques

If you ever come to Bangi don't forget to stop by at Masjid Hasannah. It's the biggest mosque in Bangi. But I believe Bangi is the only area that contains 5-6 (UKM mosque, Masjid Seksyen 4, Masjid Ilim, among others) big mosques within 5-6 kilometers from each others. This is the place with the highest concentration of big mosques in the world (No, Im not kidding) . Most of the time the mosques are full of locals as well as visitors stopping in Bangi. This is the place where people stop to fulfill their daily obligations.

UKM

6. UKM

Another place to visit in Bangi is UKM. It's the largest university in Malaysia in terms or acreage. The students' enrollment are around 28,00-30,000. Bangi is the main campus with another branch in Bandar Tun Razak that houses the Medical Faculty. There's a FSSK museum and a fungi garden to visit at UKM. UKM also houses the Permata Pintar whore you find hundred of brilliant youngsters studying.