Language policies in Malaysia : from colonial to de-colonial era

Abstract

This article sketches briefly construction and re-construction processes via language policies commencing from the very outset of the colonial establishment in Malaya to the contemporary Malaysia. The present writer argues this whole pr ocess nor matively represents the plurality of the language policy owing to the changing actors and changing purposes throughout the various eras. Hence the research object of this article is to draw attention into two over all language policies : the first was implemented during the colonial era, and the second one has been the product of the Malay ruling elite after the independence. In the course of time, the language policies, as the reflection of cultural force, inevitably have become significant catalysts to inculcate and transmit respective cultural values as well. These process es will be traced through significant data in archival documentaries and contemporary researches. From the education of the children of Malay ruling elit es in British schools to vernacular schools and national schools, language policies took an impressive place in the history of Malay Peninsula in the sense of reconstructuring the society designed on the basis of the political power. On the other hand, the same era also witnessed development of national awareness owing to some certain policies. It is plausible to urge that language policies seem to have been very decisive for the formation of national conciousness starting from the early decades of the last century. And the efforts of the founding fathers of Malay community played crucial roles by introducing language policies reconstructively as unifying factors of multilingual and multiracial society.