In life, things happen. Most of them have reasons - pleasant or unpleasant. I may only be 26 years old but I think I can dare say that I've seen how the world truly work. I loved it as much as I hated it.
All my years, I've been rejected and condemned thus leading the need to fit in. Some of the reasons might be because I wasn't MALAY enough and because I spoke a lot of English. Truth is, people criticized me for that! And look where I've been with my ability to speak in English. I can't help it if my parents speak English at home. It is good. Actually, that is the best thing about being in my family. We all speak English. Going overseas OR interacting with Caucasians won't be a problem. Before I forget, I have CAUCASIAN relatives - most of them are in Norway and Australia.
When I was a little bit younger, I was offended by it but now that I am older, I understand one thing. People who've criticized me are secretly jealous of my ability and the fact that my family does not consist on Malaysian races and creeds but we have Portuguese blood flowing in our veins. I have Norwegian cousins. Of course I need to know how to speak good English!
I was once criticized for speaking English because my Bahasa Sarawak wasn't that good. So what? Admit it if you are jealous. Years ago, I was told that if I had continued to call my mum - Mummy instead of mak, both of us would go to Hell. So, is it possible that the most Islamic man and his mother in America would also go to Hell because he didn't call his mother, mak?
So what if I don't speak good Sarawakian, at least I can communicate with ANYONE in the world. I won't have to make myself look stupid in front of foreigners.
I have always thought that Sarawakians are the best English speakers in the whole of Malaysia but with conservative people like THEM, we are NOT the best. There are still some narrow-minded people there in Sarawak.
If your argument is because the English colonized us (hence the Rajah Brooke reign), why are you listening to all those stupid songs on the mainstream radio or watching foreign movies in the cineplexes OR adopting the Western culture?
Hello? Heard of GLOBALIZATION? Yeah, without it, we would be forever be BACKWARDS. I wonder if you know the meaning of GLOBALIZATION. It is a big word but not too big nowadays because more and more people are able to speak GOOD English.
Some people don't think when they yap. Seriously. I would think that they've put their brains in their butts and cover their butts with a metal underwear. People like them will NEVER go far. Seriously.
I may speak BETTER English than Bahasa Sarawak but that does not make me a non-Sarawakian! At least, I can prove to people that I am an educated Sarawakian who is exposed with the GLOBALIZATION around me!
"Napa padah kau ya, ndak alah-alah speaking!" I HATE that sentence.
Look, if you are jealous. Say so. Don't criticize. The bigger fool would be you when a foreigner come up to you and ask you for directions and all you can say is YES NO YES NO or make a big fool out of yourself! Before you talk about other people's ability to speak GOOD ENGLISH, think about the things you like... the WESTERN things you like. You just make yourself look like a fool and a hypocrite.
What is worse, I am currently residing in West Malaysia and someone say things like that (whether it is directly or indirectly) to me, it hurts me and it makes me angry.
I maybe OUTSIDE my state but I was born a Sarawakian and no matter where I am or where I reside permanently, I will FOREVER be a Sarawakian and doesn't mean I know or often speak in another language doesn't mean I am NOT a Sarawakian. Only narrow-minded idiots say such things.
Think about it this way, if you think a person who is not fluent in his or her native language means he or she is not of that heritage, then are you Malaysian if you don't speak or understand real Bahasa Melayu? Did you know BURIT means differently? Think about that. Use your brain before you criticize others where language is concerned.
