Everywhere in the world, language is a political issue, and has been so since time immemorial. But in the context of Malaysia, the issue of language is, more often than not, a divider rather than a unifier. At times, the situation becomes so tense that it almost escalates into a threat to national security.

Needless to say, the non-Malays often look askance at the attempt by Barisan Nasional to widen the use of Bahasa. But they are, most probably, not against the language per se, but the supremacist agenda behind it.

Meanwhile, the Malays simply don’t seem to understand why the Chinese in this country guard so jealously their right to mother-tongue education.