English vs. Bahasa Malaysia A German friend of mine once asked me why I did not use Malay as an every day language when I am Malaysian. What piqued his curiosity was when I had a Malay friend over and both of us had a conversation in flawless English. My German friend could not help but to ask us why the national language was not used. “In Germany, everybody speaks German! ” he said. And then it hit me, that in Thailand, locals speak Thai every day on almost every occasion.
In Philippines and Indonesia, people of whichever descent speak in the national language. On the contrary, my Malay friend and I are both born in Malaysia. We are both brought up in Malaysia and went through over a decade of Malaysian education. So why were we not engaging ourselves in a Malay conversation? On 31st August 1967, Malay became the national language of Malaysia and also the sole official language. The enforced use of Malay in government services and education system was to ensure the retention of Malay privileges and special rights.
However, the Government made a decision to refer to the language as Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian Language) instead of Bahasa Malayu (Malay Language) to be more inclusive of the other ethnic groups living in Malaysia. I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with having Bahasa Malaysia as our default language. It is not news that the Malays are numerically superior to any of the other races in our society. But if the usage of the national language is one of the factors that define our identity as Malaysians, are we speaking in Bahasa Malaysia enough?
Perhaps for the sake of national unity, Malaysians are always bravely exploring the socio-cultural conundrums of our identity at a time where our atavistic beliefs collide with the incoming urgency of globalisation. It is reported that in 2010, over RM38mil was spent to promote understanding of the 1Malaysia concept which was aimed at strengthening unity among the races in the country. So let’s ask the perennial questions: Who are we as individuals and who are we as Malaysians?
And in this shiny new millennium, are we going to stay as the citizens of Malaysia or will we become citizens of the world? The truth with using the national language is that not a lot of the other races use it as often. The only time I use Bahasa Malaysia is when I need to renew my passport or licenses. English translations are already available on most forms including those found in post office and banks. In shopping malls or service centers, most people will automatically start a conversation with me in English. When I meet my friends, we chatter in English.
I have lost count of my Malay friends who grew up in the metropolis, speaking English with their family members and other Malay friends! Furthermore, it is very unusual to even see two Chinese friends speaking Bahasa Malaysia to each other; they usually speak in their native Chinese language or in English! Just a few years ago, Science and Mathematics were being taught in English. This measure was taken by the Malaysian Education Ministry to ensure that Malaysian students were up-to-date about these subjects compared to their Western counterparts.
Of course, it helps that most scientific and mathematical papers are in English. However, due to the pressure from certain political parties, the plan was cut short in order to preserve the competitiveness of the national language. Does speaking English make me any less of a Malaysian? Not as far as I am concerned. I still feel like a Malaysian. I am Malaysian first, and then Chinese second. When someone asks me about my race, I answer ‘Malaysian Chinese’ because this is the country I have grown up in even though English is my everyday language.
I am just as Malaysian as any of my friends who speak in English and their own native languages in the comfort of their own homes. I am still the biggest fan of Malaysian food and I am still a holder of MyKad, which legally certifies my nationality. And I have absolutely no qualms when it comes to anyone speaking Malay, to me or anyone else. Looking at the bigger pictures, international countries investing in Malaysia are looking for local talents who are not only able to speak in their native languages but also able to carry professional conversations in English as well.
If the usage of English is to be looked down upon simply due to cultural reverence for the Malay language, how will we fare in an increasingly globalised world where your level of English determines the success in your career? “It’s because we are 1Malaysia,” that was how I answered my German friend’s question. (795 words) REFERENCES Multilingual Mania, English or National Language? Thoughts from Malaysia, viewed 1st April 2011, Sipalan, J. , 2011, Murugiah: RM38mil spent on 1Malaysia, viewed 4th April 2011, Wikipedia, Malay Language, viewed 1st April 2011,
LEADERSHIP PAPER 9 Running Head: LEADERSHIP PAPER 1 Leadership Paper Name Institutional
LEADERSHIP PAPER 9
Running Head: LEADERSHIP PAPER 1
Leadership Paper
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Personal mission statement on Leadership
Personal leadership development can be a personal endeavor. The better one becomes, the better his or her leadership becomes. It is the leadership misconception that if one engages in the best practices of a great leader, they become that type of leader. Applying the idea that if a person has that quality, or they do not do this or that, like their chosen mentors, can derail one’s leadership development. An effective leader is one who can assist others in overcoming the limitations of their own individual selfishness and laziness and fear and weaknesses and get them to better, harder things than they can get themselves to do in their own.
May mission is to utilize the skills and knowledge I have acquired throughout the semester in my profession and create a leadership environment where every individual I interact with can thrive and built on their accomplishments.
Self Awareness
This was one of the highly important discussed leadership competencies in class. It is being mindful of what one is excellent at while praising what is yet to be learned. This includes, owning up to a mistake and admitting when one lacks answers. This may seem counterintuitive in the highly competitive culture. In fact, most of people function on the idea that they must come out as if they know all, all the time or else groups will start questioning on their abilities and diminishing their leadership effectiveness.
Self awareness comprises of being honest with one, acknowledging weaknesses. So rather than to conceal them, one who try to conceal weakness actually highlights them and this leads to the perception of lack of self-awareness and integrity.
The Benefits of Self-awareness
On the interpersonal level, the self awareness in relation to weaknesses and strengths can make the leader acquire the trust of other individuals and increase has or her credibility, thus increasing one’s leadership effectiveness. When one acknowledges what he or she is yet to learn, it models to others that it is fine to acknowledge that it is not at all times achievable to have all the answers, to make a mistake and more prominently to ask for help. All these are uniqueness of leadership which is continually learning and springboard to novelty and agility. These are the hallmarks of a highly performing leader.
When a leader pretends to understand everything and never acknowledge mistakes, his or her model behavior may lead to negative consequences for the leader and other persons who look up to them. Being self-aware enough is to candidly declare missteps and admit that there is abundance to learn, the mistakes are the learning opportunities and giving people the consent to become joint without the fear to appear to be incompetent.
Increasing self-awareness requires one to seek feedback own his or her performance from others through asking good questions and listening without defending or justifying actions. Leaders must take responsibilities for what they do not know than to pretend that they know everything. To become a better leader, one must consider various principles and ethics, and think over strategies which can be implemented to improve such strategies in the daily life and experiences;
Having a Clear Vision
Taking time to share vision, goals and mission with team members and providing a clear4 path which others can follow. Team members must also understand clearly why the goals set are valuable to them.
Knowing and utilizing one’s strengths and gifts
If one possesses natural leadership skills and unique gifts, and also personal strengths which have been developed over time, this will assist to be a formidable leader.
Being Passionate
This is an essential leadership skill. Great leadership should not only focus on leading team members to finish the tasks, but they should possess a genuine enthusiasm and passion for the projects which they are working on.
Living in accordance with one’s morals and values
Making choices together with taking actions out of accordance with one’s values and morals leaves a leader with a nagging “bad’ feeling. Such feeling seeping in from one’s subconscious mind hinders the career success of a leader together with potential relationships.
Serving as a role model
The best of leaders talk the talk and walk the walk. This results to the group members admiring such leaders and they work towards emulating them and their behaviors.
Setting definitive goals and following concrete action plans
A leader should understand where the destination is before coming up with a map of getting there. In improving leadership skills, specific life goals with appropriate timelines must be set.
Maintaining a positive attitude
A leader must understand that no one respects a negative or a grumpy individual. A leader with a positive attitude looks at the brighter side of life and people are attracted to such leaders; being positive lead to happy life which is surrounded by other positive individuals.
Possessing good communication skills
Possessing good leadership skills includes being able to specifically and clearly communicate one’s vision, goals, intentions, skills and expectations to others. It also includes listening abilities to what others are consciously and unconsciously communicating.
Motivating others to greatness
Great leaders include everyone in their sphere of influence and recognize every individual greatest value. To become such a leader, one should look beyond the obvious and see others with compassion and insight.
Willingness to admit and learn from mistakes and failures
No individual is perfect, and every person makes mistakes. Successful leaders understand that key to success is not avoiding failing or falling, but learning from their mistakes. A strong leader is the one who is able to communicate his or her weaknesses to the team so that another person who excels at a particular task can be appointed.
Personal SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Assertive and Confidence
Technological skills
Detail Oriented
Communication and writing skills
Weaknesses
Getting into too many details
Over thinking
Experience
Opportunities
Potential employment
Business relationships
Experience with variety of people
Threats
Taking too many responsibilities
Competitive job market
Strengths
My biggest strength is my attentiveness to detail. This strength I have developed it through various leadership, and accounting work and education I have acquired both at my internship and at school. Each of the tasks has taught me how to take time to ensure that every calculation is right and every number is correctly represented. The technological skill and knowledge I posses is also part of my strengths. I have experience in Microsoft Office, especially in Excel and PowerPoint as I use these programs daily in creating presentations and reconciliations in accounting and schedules. Finally, I am very confident and assertive person; I possess a developed writing and communication skills, as well as taking part in business conversations with co-workers and writing memos and e-mails.
Weaknesses
Some of my weaknesses can be improved. Sometimes I tend to get into too many details which delay execution of tasks. I do not know how to say “No” if someone asks for assistance with some task. Currently, I have few months experience through my internship, but through my continued experience, I will turn the weakness into strength.
Opportunities
The biggest opportunities which I currently posses is the working with international customers during my internship and I had the opportunity to learn new cultures and new ways of working with different types of people. Also my business relationships I have created with my classmates, co-workers and professors have built my networks and this has improved my confidence levels and presentation skills.
Threats
My biggest threats are overworking myself by taking on so many responsibilities, and the completion for the jobs I want. To minimize such threats, I will undertake training on particular skills to survive job competitions, and try time management in order to avoid overworking.
My leadership is relational and personal. Teamwork is not an option, but a necessity. My greatest leadership asset is that I am resourceful socially, I effectively communicate and with large groups or one on one. The significance of developing relationships, utilizing input from other people, and considering multiple perspectives have always been my guidance in my effectiveness as a leader. I am highly competitive with myself and I constantly strife to learn more, set new goals sand accomplish more. In the team capacity, my contribution is always meaningful and authentic to the team’s goals.