THE proposed ban on Malay songs with English words suddenly became a hot debate last week and the issue took an unexpected twist when three government leaders gave different opinions on the subject.
Information Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, his deputy Datuk Zainuddin Maidin, and Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim appear to be singing different tunes about the issue.
Zainuddin is on a crusade to fight "rojak language".
"The ministry disallows Malay songs that incorporate English lyrics. We are following the guidelines given by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) which state that songs with inaccurate translations or improper language should be banned," he said.
Ironically, Abdul Kadir was not aware of the ban.
"If at all we want to ban a song, it is not because of several English words in the lyrics. Maybe the words are obscene - we don't want any element of obscenity," he said.
"A few English words in a Malay song is quite normal in this borderless world. I am certain the ban was not imposed for that reason because many English words or terms have been Malaysianised.
"If it is true that Malay songs are banned because they contain English words, I will not agree."
Jumping into the fray was Dr Rais who said television and radio stations did not have the authority to ban songs, theatre performances and films.
"Before deciding to ban a certain song or literary work, the legal implications and aspects must be considered. If we simply decide to ban or prohibit these works from being aired or displayed, I am concerned because there are no legislations to allow it, only political influence," he said.
These contradictory tunes appear to have rubbed off on DBP director-general Datuk Abdul Aziz Deraman and Datuk Johan Jaffar who is on the DBP board of directors.
"Inappropriate usage of Bahasa Malaysia could corrupt the national language. The usage of rojak language could also lower the status of the national language and make the Malaysian race lose its identity and culture," said Aziz.
On the other hand, language expert Johan doesn't see any wisdom in the ban.
"Most Malaysians speak with a combination of languages in their daily conversation. The mixed lyrics are purely for entertainment purpose. There should be no silly restrictions as such," he said.
All these reactions followed a report stating that Anita Sarawak's Seksis and Diva, KRU's Babe, Ruffedge's Tipah Tertipu and Too Phat's Alhamdulillah have been "taken off the air" purportedly due to the ministry's alleged ban on Malay songs containing English words.
Rojak songs have long been in existence, and no one really considered it an issue.
Language is a growing process and words have to be constantly created to keep up with time. For Bahasa Malaysia to be an effective language, it has to evolve.
How then do you explain borrowed English words like bajet (budget), kroni (crony), nepotisme (nepotism), konsentrasi (concentration) and hundreds of others that we have proudly adopted?
One language expert went so far as to claim that there are only four words in the Malay vocabulary that are genuinely Malay: api (fire), besi (iron), padi (rice) and nasi (cooked rice).
"The ban is such a harsh move. Leave the artistes alone. As long as they don't cross the boundary and write something vulgar or offensive, I don't see any need to impose such a ban," said Karyawan (Malaysian Artistes Association) honorary chairman Zaienal Abidin Omar.
He said the ruling indicated that the ministry was "ignorant" of Malay songs.
"Haven't they heard of Malay songs with a sprinkling of French, Chinese, English, Hindi and Arabic? To be fair, they should also ban these songs," he added.
Hip-hop and rap groups would probably be the ones who will "suffer" from the ban because most of their songs are full of rojak (mixed) words.
DBP has been entrusted with the noble task of helping the public improve their command of Bahasa Malaysia. Why not start by coming up with a decent Malay-English dictionary that we can all be proud of?
The song-broadcasting panel has set four guidelines, one of which is that Malay songs have to be properly constructed.
No mention of nonsensical titles like Memori Daun Pisang, Laukku Cukup Masin, Mat Kentol, Bolero, Raum, Amoi-amoi, Manusia Dengan ABC, Sapta and Rendang Buat Suami - just to name a few.
We have heard these songs on air. Wonder what the three government leaders have to say about this?
BY ZIEMAN - PUBLISHED 25/4/2004
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