MPKj officers attend Mandarin classes to communicate better

The Star, Tuesday June 11, 2013

By OH ING YEEN and VINCENT TAN
metro@thestar.com.my

We did it: Syazana (left) with MPKj officers who are happy to pick up another language.

 

DO NOT be surprised to hear Ni hau ma (How are you?) when you call the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) Assessment Depart-ment.

The council has been offering Mandarin classes to its frontline staff where they learn useful phrases such as Wo ke yi bang ni ma? (How can I help you?), Ni xiang jian shui? (Who would you like to meet?) and Xie xie (Thank you).

Classes are held thrice a week from 3pm to 5pm.

Council president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman first mooted the idea in 2009 and this was the second batch of students.

He would practise what he preached and occasionally added a few Chinese words during council meetings, such as Wo bu zhi dao (I don’t know) and Yi, er, san (One, two, three).

“In Kajang, we have many Chinese ratepayers, hence we started having Mandarin classes. We want to be people-friendly.

“We want our officers to learn more languages,” he said, adding that he was contemplating the feasibility of having Tamil class too.

Teaching for free

The classes are conducted by Syazana Hasan Nawawi, who learned the language in kindergarten and primary school.

While she did not continue learning the language in secondary school, she continued speaking the language with her friends.

Committed: The students asking Syazana (right) to come up with Chinese versions of their names.

 

The 25-year-old took a six-month course at the College of International Exchange, Shanghai University.

Upon graduation, she worked at a travel agency and was put in charge of the China market due to her language skills.

She is now a full-time teacher and gives private tuition.

Syazana is also Hasan Nawawi’s daughter and agreed to teach MPKj officers when her father mooted the idea.

“First, I introduced them to the meaning of Chinese characters, why some words are written in that way. It got them interested!

“I mainly teach them basic conversational skills, starting with numbers and greetings.

“I also teach them tongue twisters once a week so classes are not boring,” she said.

Hasan Nawawi said the council did not pay her anything except a small amount to cover her travel expenses.

Eager students

Among the students were MPKj Assessment Department officers Mazreen Faris Mazbar, Noridayu Yusoep and Mariam Bibi Abd Rahman.

They have to deal with the public daily, some of whom can only speak Mandarin.

Mazreen, 33, said he loved speaking in Chinese.

“I get discounts when I go shopping. I got a very good price when I bought the Musang King durian from a Chinese vendor!” he recalled.

He added that it was easier to make friends although his Mandarin proficiency was limited.

Noridayu has taken Chinese as a third language in university.

They all feel that starting a conversation in Mandarin helps them build rapport with the ratepayers.

Mazreen now listens to Mandarin songs to improve his skills. His favourite is Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin (The moon represents my heart), a Mandarin classic song.

“I need to improve my vocabulary,” he said.

Noridayu and Mariam Bibi both felt that practice would make perfect and watching Chinese movies help.

While only beginner’s level classes are offered, all three have expressed an interest to continue learning the language.

At other local councils

Aside from MPKj, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) staff members are also encouraged to pick up another language.

MBPJ has its staff members taking up Arabic language classes in their free time.

Currently, there are five staff members learning Arabic, although according to the council’s Public Relations and Corporate Depart-ment, the number used to be higher.

Classes are conducted every Thursday by Shafie Abdullah, an Arabic language tutor at Universiti Malaya.

Meanwhile, police officers in Ampang have been learning Korean with help from the Korean Association. There are about 5,000 South Koreans living and working in Ampang and it will help ease communication.

“We have a few officers who can speak Korean. We will send them for more classes so they can converse better to serve the large number of Koreans in the area,” said the then Selangor police chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, who is now the Inspector-General of Police in a StarMetro’s story entitled “Police beat base with Korean link” (Feb 25, 2010).