Please don’t just use Google Translate

I AM not at all surprised by MP for Sibu Oscar Ling’s mistranslation of the term “brain drain” as “longkang otak” (“‘Longkang otak’ doesn’t quite mean ‘brain drain’, minister tells MP”, The Star, July 3; online at tinyurl.com/285cf6t2). “Longkang otak”, I believe, is what you get if you use Google Translate.

I had the personal experience of reading a legal submission saying that the defendant “tidak ada pertahanan bermerit”. It should be “tidak ada pembelaan bermerit” – “pembelaan” is the Bahasa Malaysia term for “defence”; “pertahanan” refers to defence in quite a different context.

Another submission offered “perkhidmatan Writ dan Pernyataan Tuntutan plaintiff terhadap defendan adalah tidak biasa”. It should be “penyampaian/penyerahan Writ dan Pernyataan Tuntutan plaintiff terhadap defendan adalah tidak teratur – “penyampaian/penyerahan” is the Bahasa Malaysia term for “service” while “tidak teratur” is the proper phrase for “irregular”.

The above were all the result of using Google Translate. Thank God, the submissions were from law students and not actual lawyers. Though it is concerning that they were final year law students.

They were stumped when asked to translate “leave of court” too. Is it “cuti mahkamah”? It is “kebenaran mahkamah”?

And I was stumped when they said “plaintif berdoa” when it should be “plaintiff memohon” – “mohon” is the term for “pray”, as in “the plaintiff prays that the defendant’s application is dismissed with costs”. “Berdoa” is the literal word that you would get from Google Translate.

I say “Thank God” because those mistakes were corrected before the students became new entrants into the legal profession.

And I also thank God that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa corrected Ling’s mistake.

Be that as it may, my simple point is this: command of both languages, English and Bahasa Malaysia, matters. And to gain that command, don’t just Google Translate.

HAFIZ HASSAN

Bukit Baru

Melaka