Marriage: A social and sacred institution

The recent controversial statement by the Obedient Wives Club has sparked off a lot of disagreements among Malaysians.  I believe the issue debated is about marriage, in particular the relationship between husband and wife. The other underlying issue is how to persevere a marriage.

I believe in this debate, we need to understand the fundamentals of a marriage. What is basically a marriage? Marriage is a union between two souls that has been instituted by our society to enable the married parties to lead a happy and blissful life.  

Marriage should be seen a commitment and mutual attachment of mind and heart of two parties to each other. It should be a binding agreement to ensure that the tie endures forever. Marriage is simply not only a contract between two parties, but also should be regarded as a divine institution.

Once couples are united in wedlock, they must show forth the utmost faithfulness one to another. Loyalty and fidelity are elements that ensure the marriage endures. Of course, this is the challenge of today’s couples. They need to continually nourish their tree of union with love and affection at all times.

What are then the ingredients of marriage? What makes a marriage work? Are there any specific formulas that exist to preserve the sanctity of marriage?

To sustain a marriage, first love and agreement must manifest between couples. If enmity and hatred exist within them, then destruction and dispersion is inevitable. 

The couples should be thoroughly acquainted with the characters of each other so that they can understand each other better. They should become like loving comrades and companions for time and eternity.

Although marital union do give importance to the physical aspect of marriage, but the spiritual purpose and function of marriage should be also be given prominence.  True marriage should be a unification of two people physically and spiritually.  If only couples are physically inclined, then the marriage probably cannot endure long enough.

In short, where there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time. If this exists among couples, sure that union will sustain.

Use of mantan in Malay

I refer to the news ‘Mantan’ not accurate, says Rais’ NST June 8.  It is rather a surprise when Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the word mantan, a word borrowed from Indonesia is not an appropriate word for the English word ‘ex’ or ‘former’. 

When consulted Kamus Dewan, Edisi Keempat, the latest edition, the entry of the word mantan is explained as follows: ‘dahulunya pernah menjawat jawatan tertentu, tetapi sekarang tidak lagi, bekas’.  It could be perhaps translated in English as follow: ‘previously held a specific post, but not now, former’. 

 The Online Indonesian-English Dictionaries  also cite ‘former’ in English as the equivalent meaning to mantan. I know that this word has been in use quite recently as the earlier versions of Kamus Dewan do not have the entry of the word mantan before 2005.  The Indonesian word has probably entered Bahasa Malaysia vocabulary some years ago. As there is doubt about the correct usage of the word,  the origin of the word need to be traced and its meaning ascertained.  

I hope Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the guardian of the Malay Language could clarify this issue by making an appropriate statement. Such an announcement is crucial as the word is popular and widely used in Malay, in writing and speaking among Malay speakers.  Such clarification is also important especially in the context of teaching and learning in schools and other learning institutions.

Use proper bahasa Malaysia in billboards

I refer to ‘Mind your translation’ 2 Jun 2011 (The Star). As explained by Dr M.A. Nair, many billboards, advertisements and product packages do not display the correct use of our national language. Many of them contain wrong spelling and usage of bahasa Malaysia.

As explained by Dr Nair, the word merbahaya doesn’t exist in the language. The root word is bahaya and words like berbahaya, membahayakan are generated by using prefix and suffixes like ber and mem-kan. In Malay, prefix mer does not exist.  But, we do have the word marabahaya, which means disaster or calamity. Despite that, we still notice traffic signboards like Selekoh Merbahaya which should read Selekoh Berbahaya (Dangerous bend)  are displayed on highways and roads in the country.

Another common error in traffic sign is kurangkan laju. It is should be kurangkan kelajuan. Laju is an adjective, where else kelajuan is a derived noun from the root word laju. The sentence kurangkan kelajuan is correct, which correctly explains  ‘reduce speed’. Kurangkan laju , which is grammatical incorrect should be avoided.

With reference to bill boards and advertisements, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, (DBP) the guardian of the national language has been endorsed to preserve the integrity and of honour of bahasa Malaysia.

In fact, there is special section called Pengembangan bahasa Sektor Swasta  (Development of Language in the Private Sector Section)  at  the Language Department (Jabatan Bahasa) of DBP. This section of the Department looks into language use in posters and signboards and billboards in bahasa Malaysia in the country.  Companies, government agencies or even individual wanting to put  billboard or advertisement need to counter-check with this Section of DBP on the proper use of the language.  If this Section of DBP is always referred, perhaps language errors in billboards and advertisements can be checked and reduced.

English and bahasa Malaysia are two different distinct languages with its own grammar dan language structure. One should not confuse with the structures of these two languages.  Let us hope billboards and traffic signs display proper use of our national language.