KUALA LUMPUR – Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s video of himself testing elderly citizenship applicants for Bahasa Malaysia proficiency has been panned as patronising and demeaning by some social media users.
There were also X users who praised the minister for ensuring applicants could speak the national language.
Those who disagreed, however, highlighted the fact that the applicants being tested had lived in Malaysia longer than even Saifuddin himself.
“These senior citizens have managed to communicate to earn, shop, and get treatment at hospitals, and to raise a family successfully. Isn’t that proof enough of their ability to communicate in Malaysian society?” asked Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary-general A. Sivarajan.
Other netizens raised concerns as to how the elderly applicants were used for Saifuddin’s “public relations stunt”, with the minister appearing to speak to them in a condescending tone.
“It is so weird that politicians talk to 80-year-olds like they are eight. Do they talk to their parents this way?” asked Brian Gomez, founder of live music bar Merdekarya.
“It’s heartbreaking to see old people be put through this demeaning process. They have to speak in Bahasa Melayu with the minister (and be) turned into content, to prove they have lived and nurtured the land here the whole time,” lamented human rights activist Juana Jaafar.
The video was posted to Saifuddin’s timeline yesterday, showing him asking elderly applicants of different races questions in Bahasa Malaysia.
The minister had visited the Home Ministry complex in Ipoh, Perak, and dropped in to check on a Bahasa Malaysia proficiency test for citizenship applicants, a requirement under Article 19(1) of the Federal Constitution.
In the clip, he is seen holding up pictures of food and asking an elderly Indian woman to name the items. He also speaks to other applicants, asking them questions such as whether they had had breakfast, and where they lived.
Some X users said it was unfair for the applicants to undergo the test when certain individuals – such as the second wife of the late former Sarawak governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal’s brother – managed to obtain Malaysian citizenship without hassle.
“They (elderly applicants) made the mistake of not playing football, or marrying important figures,” user @deady_83 quipped.
Others urged for the same test to be conducted on other groups in the nation instead, alluding to the wealthy and well-connected, like those in “T20 areas”.
Conversely, those who agreed with the video clip said the Bahasa Malaysia language tests were fairly simple and would help streamline the process for naturalisation.
“How is it demeaning if it merely wants to test the citizen’s proficiency? Even then, it is simple language (terms). Was it considered demeaning when we went through Bahasa Melayu and English proficiency tests all this while?” asked Penang PKR Youth vice chief Syamil Luthfi.
“I like this approach, as they are not citizens under technical excuses, but they have been residents for a long time. Congratulations (Saifuddin), you finally scored something meaningful as the home minister,” said user @ken_thusiasm. – March 6, 2024