KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay language proficiency test for citizenship applications would be made simple with emphasis placed on cultural understanding, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
This includes showing applicants pictures of local well-known snacks such as muruku and ketupat including places of worship and iconic locations to determine if they could understand what they meant in the Malaysian context.
The interview would not be scripted and rigid akin to a job interview, he said, adding that applicants would be provided with visual assistance.
“I personally attended the language interview. This interview isn’t just scripted, ‘Can you give your full name? What is your address?’ No. We show them pictures.
“For example, a picture of muruku and ask, ‘What celebration is this for?’ They answer, ‘That’s for Deepavali.’ They know.
“We show a picture of ketupat and satay, and ask, ‘When do you eat this?’ They respond, ‘During Hari Raya.’ That’s the language test
“The full score is only eight points with passing marks being three or four.
“We’re making it easy for the applicants, it’s not like a job interview that is very formal,” he told reporters in the Dewan Rakyat here on Wednesday (Oct 16).
He added that this was to make sure they understood the diversity of cultural diversity in Malaysia.
Saifuddin said that another example was showing an applicant a photo of the PETRONAS Twin Towers and asking if they knew where it was located.
“‘Auntie, do you know where this is?’ She answers, ‘In Kuala Lumpur.’ She knows about her country, she knows about the celebrations of her country,” he added.
Saifuddin said this following the proposed constitutional amendments on citizenship laws which included Malay language tests.
He added that language proficiency has been best practice in several other countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.
Earlier during the debate, Perikatan Nasional chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan asked the minister to explain the mechanism to be used in measuring applicant’s language proficiency under the proposed amendments.
Saifuddin, in March, reportedly said that the current Malay language proficiency method and questions provided by the Home Ministry and the National Registration Department were too rigid.
This was especially harder for elderly applicants, who were born in the country before independence or pre-formation of Malaysia in 1963, he said.
