Respect and protect Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia

INTERNATIONAL Mother Language Day has been observed on Feb 21 every year since 2000 when it was formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly. The celebration aims to promote and safeguard the cultural and linguistic diversity of the global community.

As a multiracial nation, our country has embraced different mother languages in education, social interaction, media and so forth. However, there is one particular mother language that remains in limbo, neither recognised nor pushed aside, neither mainstream nor seen as a subculture.