NST Leader: Of language and worldview
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C-L) chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London. - AFP PIC
Most English politicians are one incoherent lot. They just don't seem to be able to make a principled stand on most issues.
This notwithstanding, there are some among us Malaysians who want us to go fiercely English and "adopt" their "worldview", as reported by a local media yesterday. You see, learning English and being English are two different things. By all means go on a drive — an overdrive even — to make English the medium of instruction in secondary schools, but know the difference between speaking English and being English.
The English have a way of seeing. And so have we. Sometimes we can be worlds apart.
Start with the first incoherence. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government tell the world that they are firmly committed to a two-state solution in Palestine. Yet they watch, nay encourage, Israel to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land. Johnson's Conservative Party doctrine is but a continuation of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by another name.
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Johnson's sanctions policy, the second incoherence, is another reason why we should tread carefully before we "adopt" the English "worldview". Sanctions do have their place, but they must be applied in a principled way. Here, too, Johnson's Britain is an example of incoherence. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was only hours old and Johnson's cabinet was already hard at work on a multitude of them. Do not get us wrong. We are not saying that imposing sanctions on Russia is wrong. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is wrong. On this we are clear. No country has the right to wage a war on a sovereign nation. Might is never right, be it Russian, American or European might.
Of this, we are certain and have said so in our earlier Leaders. Neither is the ganging up of 30 nations against one. This is a recipe for a forever war, not a forever peace.
Now back to sanctions. What we are saying is, if Britain wants to impose sanctions, it must be consistent. If it is okay to slap Russia with sanctions for invading Ukraine, it must be okay, too, to do the same to Israel. After all, the Zionist regime has been occupying Palestine by invasion for 74 years. What's worse, Britain doesn't even allow a peaceful boycott of Israel.
On May 10, Johnson's government made this clear in the Queen's speech read by Prince Charles at the opening of Parliament. No public institutions would be allowed to participate in such boycotts or divestment campaigns. This is a blow to Palestine's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and more than 40 other similar organisations in Britain.
Gwyn Daniel, a UK psychotherapist and an English politician-watcher, writing in the Middle East Eye, describes the art of politics there as "a patchwork of evasions". How else would one describe English politicians' "unwavering commitment to a two-state solution" and the absence of a Palestinian state all these years? The fault lies not in the English language, but the worldview adopted by many English politicians. Be they Conservative or Labour makes no difference.
Malaysians must find a way to learn how to read, write and speak English without being English, just as we learn how to read, write and speak Bahasa Malaysia without being Malay. Or just as we learn Chinese or Indian dialects without being one either. This is a distinction with a difference.
Most English politicians are one incoherent lot. They just don't seem to be able to make a principled stand on most issues.
This notwithstanding, there are some among us Malaysians who want us to go fiercely English and "adopt" their "worldview", as reported by a local media yesterday. You see, learning English and being English are two different things. By all means go on a drive — an overdrive even — to make English the medium of instruction in secondary schools, but know the difference between speaking English and being English.
The English have a way of seeing. And so have we. Sometimes we can be worlds apart.
Start with the first incoherence. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government tell the world that they are firmly committed to a two-state solution in Palestine. Yet they watch, nay encourage, Israel to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land. Johnson's Conservative Party doctrine is but a continuation of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 by another name.
MORE NEWS
Johnson's sanctions policy, the second incoherence, is another reason why we should tread carefully before we "adopt" the English "worldview". Sanctions do have their place, but they must be applied in a principled way. Here, too, Johnson's Britain is an example of incoherence. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was only hours old and Johnson's cabinet was already hard at work on a multitude of them. Do not get us wrong. We are not saying that imposing sanctions on Russia is wrong. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is wrong. On this we are clear. No country has the right to wage a war on a sovereign nation. Might is never right, be it Russian, American or European might.
Of this, we are certain and have said so in our earlier Leaders. Neither is the ganging up of 30 nations against one. This is a recipe for a forever war, not a forever peace.
Now back to sanctions. What we are saying is, if Britain wants to impose sanctions, it must be consistent. If it is okay to slap Russia with sanctions for invading Ukraine, it must be okay, too, to do the same to Israel. After all, the Zionist regime has been occupying Palestine by invasion for 74 years. What's worse, Britain doesn't even allow a peaceful boycott of Israel.
On May 10, Johnson's government made this clear in the Queen's speech read by Prince Charles at the opening of Parliament. No public institutions would be allowed to participate in such boycotts or divestment campaigns. This is a blow to Palestine's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and more than 40 other similar organisations in Britain.
Gwyn Daniel, a UK psychotherapist and an English politician-watcher, writing in the Middle East Eye, describes the art of politics there as "a patchwork of evasions". How else would one describe English politicians' "unwavering commitment to a two-state solution" and the absence of a Palestinian state all these years? The fault lies not in the English language, but the worldview adopted by many English politicians. Be they Conservative or Labour makes no difference.
Malaysians must find a way to learn how to read, write and speak English without being English, just as we learn how to read, write and speak Bahasa Malaysia without being Malay. Or just as we learn Chinese or Indian dialects without being one either. This is a distinction with a difference.
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