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.

I am referring to Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM), the national sign language for Malaysians who are deaf or hard of hearing. Like any other language, BIM is crucial for their cultural and political identity, heritage, communication, education, and everyday activities.

This state of being in limbo may be due to the fact that most of us take our daily communication tool for granted because we speak our mother language.

Many people are more aware of BIM today compared to 10 or 20 years ago. There have been efforts to promote BIM, such as through courses for the public and the invention of communication technologies specifically to interact with Malaysians who are deaf or hard of hearing.

However, I would say that there is still no substantive and structural reform by government and society in integrating BIM into the daily activities of the nation. For instance, most broadcasting companies have yet to adopt BIM interpretation services in their news reporting. Furthermore, there is no comprehensive system in place for BIM interpretation services by the government.

Another crucial example is in education. BIM has yet to be fully adopted as the lingua franca for the education of students who are deaf, an issue which I refer to as “the politics of sign language”.

If we have an elected official in the Dewan Rakyat who is deaf, would that person be allowed to communicate through his or her BIM interpreter using BIM? The term Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia or Jurubahasa Isyarat Malaysia is nowhere to be found in the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat.

From a legal point of view, the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 (Act 685) recognises BIM as the official language of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing in this country. On both moral and legal obligations, we have a duty to respect and protect BIM like any other mother language in our multiracial community. That is one facet of a truly inclusive Malaysia.

Happy International Mother Language Day 2020.

MUHAMAD NADHIR ABDUL NASIR

Kluang, Johor

(The writer is a person with visual impairment who is actively practising as an independent researcher and consultant focusing on issues affecting persons with impairment and/or chronic illness.)