P33 Ujian Bahasa Melayu: The Paper II

Whenever I have the opportunity to meet one ‘somebody’ after each of Ujian Bahasa Melayu, we discuss about the paper. On one occasion, one question arised – what was the purspoe to have this Ujian?

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Do we want to help the candidates  passed the exam or, to FAILED them?

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AND looking at the way they choose the questions from the lastest paper, I came to this simple conclusions:

1. Create the possibility for the Malay to pass with ease

2. Make it difficult for ‘them’ & let ‘them’ struggle a little bit…

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So much of  becoming the champon of MIB ideology… (Didn’t Islam teach us to be FAIR to all?) AND, what is the true meaning of “Adil Laila Bahagia” as we, the subjects, were told to uphold?

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Simpulan Bahasa section is somewhat, quite easy. But, for Peribahasa (simpulan bahasa is actually part of peribahasa), the questions are as follows:

• Seperti kera sumbang

• Seperti melepaskan anjing tersepit

• Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi

• Sudah terang lagi bersuluh

• .Seperti pungguk rindukan bulan

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Bahasa Brunei came in ‘building sentences’ form. For those who frequented radio Brunei National section, Sehari Sepatah Kata, smiles definately can be seen on their faces. This section used to be asked in translation form – Bahasa Brunei to Bahasa Melayu Kamus, and vise versa. Most candidates will find this section somewhat, difficult. AND 5 marks for 10 questions? I just hope the person doing the paper knew what he is doing…

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Pantun was also totally changed. VERY GOOD. With the changes, I will make sure from now on, I will force my students to byheart atleast 150 pantuns. Lets make it absolutely difficult for the permanent residents to pass the Ujian Bahasa Melayu. Late make the number of Brunei citizens stagnant. Lets not care about the importance of human resources. Lets us continue to get the expertise from outside. Let us be selfish along the way…

1.   Buah langsat kuning mencelah, senduduk tidak beguna lagi; Sudah mendapat gading bertuah, tanduk tidak berguna lagi.

2.   Kucing kurus menggaru papan, papan dibawa dari Pauh; Badan kurus bukan tak makan, kurus mengenang orang yang jauh.

3.   Jika sudah menjadi pantang, jangan dicuba jangan dicari; Kusangka panas hingga ke petang, rupanya hujan di tengah hari. (not too sure if this is the one)

4.   Dari mana punai melayang, dari sawah turun ke padi; Dari mana datangnya sayang, dari mata turun ke hati.

5.   Make your own pantun

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On general knowledge, the questions were somewhat a mixture of  ‘should know’ like terasul and full name of minister/s and one Pegawai Daerah of your choice. At the same time, the candidates were ask to name the biggest hospital & which ministry Jabatan Pertanian belongs to.

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Alat-alat Kebesaran Diraja section should be easy to most of the candidates. The items asked were:

• Si Naga

• Mahkota

• Si Bongkok

• Usungan Diraja

• Payung Diraja

• Gandang Jaga-jaga

• Serunai

• Nobat Diraja

• Dastar

• Junjung anugerah (?)

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The other changes were in tatabahasa section, antonims of gender on certain type of people:

• qariah

• muslimah

• seniman

• duda

• teruna

• mahasiswa

• olahragawan

• ustaz

• syed

• biduan

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Lastly, Huraian – speech writing, thanking members of an association for nominating you as the new President. 120 – 150 words.

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My conclusions is simple. For those Brunei citizenship applicants out there, if you serious enough to become a true Bruneian, you must be sincere to learn Malay, its custom and culture & to understand the true meaning of Malay Islamic Monarchy ideology. Definately, passing the ‘Ujian’ only by memorising the questions & answers is something of the past now. YOU need to really study and ready to change to became a truly responsible citizen of Negara Brunei Darussalam, in the future. In YOU and your future generations lies the nation’s hope to become a develop country in 2035.

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P33 Ujian Bahasa Melayu: The Paper

As mentiond earlier, the latest paper was a bit of a shock to most candidates. The changes were obvious – not for the better, but for the worst!

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Karangan (composition titles) were okay. A title from a proverb as predicted, came out. It has a link to one of the title “membina Keluarga Bahagia” in P32 paper. This time, it is in a form of proverb (peribahasa) –  “Seperti Kacang Lupakan Kulit’.

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The titles:

• Bagaimana Kita Boleh Mempelbagaikan Sumber Ekonomi Negara Bagi Kemajuan Negara Serta Mencapai Objektif Memajukan Negara Ini

• Penggunaan Bahasa Melayu Selepas 50 Tahun Sebagai Bahasa Rasmi Negara

• Bencana Alam Yang Dahsyat Yang Melanda Negara Jiran

• Seperti Kacang Lupakan Kulit

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Bina Ayat (sentence building) for Imbuhan was from the key word ‘MASYHUR’ or in English, famous/well known:

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• Masyhur

• Memasyhurkan

• Kemasyhuran

• Pemasyhuran

• Termasyhur

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Basically, my students will not have any problem building sentences out of those words. I knew most of them will manage it with ease.

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BUT, the sad thing was with the second section of Bina Ayat, suprisingly, the Board opted to choose words with an Islamic terms.

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If I remember correctly, Ujian Bahasa Melayu for Brunei citizenship applicants, are to ‘test’  the candidates knowledge of Bahasa Melayu, the culture & customs of the Malay. Generally, MIB is out of the picture – even though the subject was taught in my class.

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It was a public knowledge that more Malays failed the Ujian. This is due to the fact that the Malays were generally egoistic & over confident – thus making them too complecent to study. AND choosing words from the Islamic terms will not help them passing the Ujian either. AND I TRULY BELIEVE, this is not what our beloved HM wants. We should be fair to all candidates and try to avoid the slightest of racism possibility.

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SHOULD OUR GOVERNMENT REALLY FEELS THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE NON MUSLIMS TO KNOW OUR ISLAMIC TERMS/LAW (WHATEVER), MIGHT AS WELL FORCE ALL THE NON MUSLIM CANDIDATES TO CONVERT TO ISLAM… PERIOD…!!!

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The words are (choose five):

• Firman

• Taufik

• Khutbah

• Zakat

• Petunjuk

• Takdir

• Takwa

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My pity was towards those non muslims who never come close to studying those Islamic terms. Whatever reason the Board may hold, it was truly unfair and cruel for them to do so. Maybe the Board themselves needs to go thorough myspecial course. I believe, none of them can recite Kebawah Duli’s name in full (all 32 words, within 7.5 seconds as I did…).

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I rememberd having a lengthy chat with a Pehin who was once in the Board himself. He told me frankly that he is not able to recite Kebawah Duli’s name in full. AND he also told me that, there is no way he can pass the ‘Ujian’ if he were to try it himself… It is really ironic, and sad too… (according to him – gila gaya durang membuat kertas soalan…)

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To be continued…