“Pejuang Bahasa Melayu” from the Malayan Chinese’s National Language Movement: A Case Study on Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan (马来亚华社国语运动中的“马来语文斗士” ——以《马来语月刊》为个案)

Abstract

Abstract
Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan was a monthly magazine first published in 1960 by the Malayan Chinese community. The objectives of Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan were to promote Bahasa Kebangsaan (Malay) in Chinese community, and to create a new Malayan national identity. This paper focuses on the historical significance of Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan at the time when the National Language Movement was going strong in Chinese community. This paper argues that Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan should be positioned as “Pejuang Bahasa Melayu” (fighter of Malay Language) rather than a passive follower of the National Language Movement. Secondly, since its foundation, Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan had made an important contribution on the cultural exchange between the Chinese and Malay culture. However, due to the changes of political atmosphere
since 1960s, the National Language Movement has gradually lost their supports among the Chinese community. The result of this change has eventually led the publication of Majallah Bahasa Kebangsaan to stop in the 1970s.

摘要
《马来语月刊》创刊于1960年，这是一本由华人资本出版的马来语学习刊物。《马来语月刊》的创办与上世纪50年代在马来亚与新加坡华社掀起的学习马来语
（国语）运动有关，其目的是配合独立建国，华社积极推广马来语文的学习与使用，创造一个新兴的马来亚民族。本文将以《马来语月刊》为个案，分析该刊物在华社学习国语运动中的特殊历史意义。本文将指出，《马来语月刊》在国语运动史中的定位是马来文斗士（Pejuang Bahasa Melayu），而非被动的“学习者”。其次，《马来语月刊》对华人与马来人的文化交流，无论是语言推广、翻译、创作等，都做出了重要贡献。然而，随着内外条件的改变，国语运动失去了其在华社的群众基础，《马来语月刊》也不得不在1970年代宣告停刊。