Let us use our own language

MALAYSIA has been independent since Aug 31, 1957. Every citizen, with or without a disability, celebrates National Day every year. Deaf people also celebrate the day proudly.

But is the deaf community really independent yet? We encounter many obstacles. People decide our destiny. People decide how we should receive our education. People do not see us as a cultural and linguistic minority. We are not allowed to use our official language, BIM – Malaysian Sign Language or Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia – to learn Bahasa Malaysia in schools but instead are forced to use an ineffective coding system. Without BIM, we cannot excel in Bahasa Malaysia.

We have been trying to tell people about our language but our messages never seem to reach anyone. Deaf children grow up without BIM and are expected to be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia. The children struggle in acquiring Bahasa Malaysia because they cannot make any sense of the language without BIM. We are Malaysians, we should not have to struggle to learn Bahasa Malaysia.

To cut a long story short, we are surviving on the fringes of society, with minimal proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia. We are pleading with the Education Ministry to replace the current coding system with BIM to allow deaf children to acquire Bahasa Malaysia without obstacles.

Just as Malaya fought for Merdeka, we will keep fighting until our rights as deaf people are recognised. It would truly be Merdeka for us when hearing Malaysia hears the cry from our community and recognises that the deaf community is one that has a different language, just as Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan and other linguistic minorities do, instead of seeing us as people with a disability.

Deaf Community Merdeka!