Zakar Naik the bearded Goat

Now to be clear, I do not know how many “English people” were around, but when the camera panned to the audience, there were many people who were obviously not “English people”.

Now I do not know why Zakir spoke in English and not BM. I mean if people bemoan the lack of BM usage, surely at such a prestigious event with a world-renowned speaker, there should have been some effort to promote the national language.

After all, English speakers are accused of not understanding Malay sensitivities but then how does someone like Zakir, who speaks at these events attended predominately by BM language speakers manage to convey his ideas about the religion of the state without offending anyone?

Hadi said leaders who use foreign languages are “those who are still colonised and lack a sense of national identity” which is strange because Zakir is a world-renowned Islamic leader and he speaks in English to attentive audiences all over the world and apparently now in Perlis.

How is this possible? I get that Zakir comes from a country which was colonised but why would he speak in the language of his colonisers? I mean sure, he speaks English because he wants a wider audience but doesn’t he know that he is only reinforcing the colonial mindset at the expense of his religion’s superiority?

Is Hadi really saying that Zakir is shackled by his colonial mindset? It is also kind of strange. Hadi said it is chaotic with all these languages spoken in the city and the capital, etc, but here we have English spoken at a religious convention and everything is serene. It was as if Zakir speaking in English held their attention.

‘All languages are knowledge’

In 2002, when the old maverick decided it was time for Maths and Science to be taught in English (PPSMI) across schools in different stages, the opposition was throwing up roadblocks.

Indeed, so comical were the protestations that Hadi, who was then the menteri besar of Terengganu, issued a statement expressing “full support” for Dong Jiao Zong and the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall “in their effort to uphold the use of mother tongue in the teaching of Science and Maths in Chinese primary schools”.

Indeed as reported in the press, “Hadi, who is Terengganu menteri besar, also said PAS was not against the effort to upgrade the proficiency of English and other languages to help Malaysians cope with globalisation. The statement reaffirmed that PAS ‘regards all languages as knowledge’.”

Would you believe that PAS back in the day (2002) from reportage “passed a resolution at their national convention to support wider use of the Chinese language in Malaysia.” The next day, Sin Chew Jit Poh quoted a PAS vice-president, Dr Hasan Mohamed Ali, as saying that China has become increasingly important in regional affairs and the global economy. As such, he said, learning Chinese was crucial as it would enhance the competitiveness of Malaysians.

So all this is really nonsensical when you really think about it. What makes Malaysia great is that we have the possibility of being a major meeting place in the region where nearly every Southeast Asian language is spoken and with the volatility of current geopolitics, this is a good thing. As PAS believed back in the day.

Language is knowledge. And as we know, knowledge is power. The only threat to BM are those who wish to weaponise the national language.

Lastly, I don’t really know how Zakir self-identifies, but I know I could find out because if I had a conversation with him it would be in English.