Reading jawi is cool!

Lately, I have been making some efforts to read jawi by buying and reading Utusan Melayu-a weekly Malay newspapers with jawi alphabets. My objectives were to improve my jawi reading/writing because I have not been reading jawi texts for umpteen years.What I discovered was that my reading rate is not as fast as when I used to read Utusan Melayu way back in the 60's. Not only that, I found that certain words were spelt differently.

One other thing I discovered that some topics which affect the Malay community and the some issues that are close to Malay hearts are reported and discussed but not reported in the mainstream national newspapers. How I wish my children and younger Malays could read jawi and have access to this information and discourse.

To all Malay parents out there, may I suggest you buy a copy of Utusan Melayu for your family every week.It only cost RM 1.00 but the benefits are manifolds.If I could not get my kids to read,at least I could maintain my command of reading and writing jawi. Since two weeks ago(very sad really),I am struggling to write my personal thoughts/notes  in jawi.

While waiting to get my new IC last week, I was reading the Utusan Melayu. A younger man ( about 30+) approched me and asked what newspapers I was reading.I told him it is Utusan Melayu. He confided to me that this is the first time he saw a Malay newspapers written in jawi.Honestly,I don't blame him for that-only certain shops sell the jawi Utusan Melayu.(I bought mine at Petronas Petrol station along Jalan Kg Pandan).

Many,many years ago....................a few resolutions at a national seminar were made to promote the jawi writings at public buildings etc,etc,etc...Then what happened?

From now on,I will try to read Utusan Melayu at Starbuck or SFC or other public places so that I look real cool -as cool as someone who reads Le Monde at Delifrance;-)

Do you wish to look cooler than that? Join me with kopiah putih and iPod and read Utusan Melayu and drink cafe latte at Gloria Jeans...

Now, I am starting to fall in love with nice Arabic words...Just look at those words on the billboard-they are beautiful:-

Comments

[atok]

abedib,
ambo ingak Utusan Melayu dah lama extinct. still exist, or juz been revived?

[Encik Mus]

Maybe someday Jawi will become as a mere national heritage. Unless serious and great effect action are taken, don't expect Jawi to be preserved in the next generation. Lets' join the Jawi club.

[Jiwa]

Utusan Melayu was a historical dailies, very synonymous with the Malay struggle for independence.

However, it ceased to be dailies few years back, due to economical reasons.

Now it has become a weekly paper. In time to come it may only be a monthly paper, and it will die naturally, because the Malays can no longer read Jawi.

[Gukita]

Sounds very pathetic, but its very real. Sometimes ago I read about a chinese reading Utusan melayu as his routines. Sad really that we malays have discarded the medium through which we had spread independance consciousness that was instrumental to its success.

Abedib was trying to make reading Jawi look modern and hip rather than backward looking and retrogressive. Maybe that's the way to go about doing it. Get it trendy and sophisticated. Why not read it at airports while waiting for flight. Maybe with a baseball cap on rather than kopiah..... Why not? :-)

[Adib]

En Mus,
is there a Jawi Club?Pls tell me more.

Gukita,
Thanks for your suggestion for me to wear baseball cap.I will try to do that the next time I be at the airport;-)

[Honeytar]

Abedib, I was lucky that Jawi was a compulsory during my primary years. I can still read and write Jawi albeit 'dah karat' sikit. Honestly, I think Jawi should be taught in primary schools.

It's like History that was not made a compulsory subject during my secondary years since at that time, they emphasise more on Math & Science. Now I'm glad to know History is a compulsory to all students.

[Adib]

Honeytar,

That is what happened when decisions were made by incompetent people in power.One whole generation had to suffer...

[Firdaus]

Pak Adib

I can only read Jawi now - not able to write anymore since they revamped the whole spelling system. I wonder where we can look up the list of new spellings. BTW, can Jawi be rendered properly on websites?

[Adib]

Firdaus,
You can recap the new jawi spelling by reading Utusan Melayu.

I donot know how to write and post jawi online, but Mustafa Mamat of my iMacuser group has done it.You can email to him: skudiv@yahoo.com

[Mustafa Mamat]

To Firdaus & Abedib,

My email is actually skubadiv@yahoo.com

And yes, you can do Arabic alphabets on the fly with Macintosh, thanks to OS X Internationalization.

In fact, after 6 years of OS X first release, JAWI has become standard features of OS X 10.5 - Leopard. Which means (i think) you can use Jawi input directly instead of switching from Arab and Persian 'keyboard input'. I can imagine (I am still on 10.4) all Jawi alphabet, especially cha, ga, nya and va, all within one keyboard layout.

InshaAllah Jawi akan terus berkembang.....