I hope this is a STRAIGHT to the point post.

One of the few tv ads that have caught my attention was the New Straits Times ad about secondary school boys who belittled their friend who was reading an English newspaper(NST of course) on the bus. After watching it, I couldn't help feeling a bit flabbergasted. Lol. Pardon the choice of words. Do people (us,Malaysians to be precise) in this modern era still view the English language negatively? Looking at the ad, I suppose there are still a few of us who feel that way. My guess is that they have yet to realize how important the language is. People need to understand that being proficient in both writen and spoken English is no longer a mark of 'how far up you are in the social class' but a NECESSITY if one wishes to survive in this ever competitive world of ours. Where would 'You straight... you don't belok-belok' lead you? Certainly not to the path of riches and glory. LOL.

So, back to the ad. The ad reminded me of myself approximately 10 years ago whe I was in primary school. I first received my primary education at a private primary school in KL. Naturally, I could speak in English fairly well as everyone used it. This is not to say that I am absolutely useless when it comes to BM because I do speak in Bahasa Malaysia at home especially to my grandma. She speakes in loghat utara some more! So, hampa jangan kuang ajaq na...sat ni aku bubuh cabai dalam mulut baru hampa tau! Lol.

One fine day in the month of May, my parents(I suspect my grandma was also involved in this) decided to transfer me to a sekolah kebangsaan. I was in standard two at that time. I'm not quite sure what made them do it but I think it was because of the longer school hours at the private school. And so I went there. The school was also much closer to my home. I guess I adapted pretty well for a new kid because I don't remember getting into trouble with the other kids in my class. Either that or my memory has indeed gone faulty. I think I prefer the afforementioned statement. Hehe.

Everything when well until I decided to talk in English. Immediately, a few of the girls in my class hissed at me and my other friend. Both of us were merely doing what we were told to by our English teacher (whose name I've forgotten) which was to practise speaking in English. 'Eleh... speaking konon'. I don't remember if I had actually reacted to their statement but given my shy and non-agressive nature, I suppose I didn't. Yup, I'm not much of a fighter. But the weird thing is, none of these girls (may I call them bitches?lol) have any problems coming up to me whenever they have problems with their English homework. Haih...humans..

So thanks to you girls my English has deteriorated! Lol. Joking. Joking. I fully hold myself accountable because unlike you people, I am an angel. LOL. No matter, all is not lost. I will continue to improve my grasp of the language for as long as my memory is intact.

*Rumput is ashamed to admit that she has never been to the National Monument. She has also yet to reach rumah Cik Maimon.