Pengetahuan Terhadap Bahasa Kebangsaan Sebagai Teras Pembinaan Peradaban Malaysia Dalam Kalangan Mahasiswa di Lembah Klang

Knowledge of the National Language as the Foundation of Malaysian Civilization among University Students in the Klang Valley

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the level of knowledge towards national language among university students in the higher institution of education (public and private) namely, i) history, ii) policy and iii) the position of Malay language in the world. Therefore, a study was conducted at Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Multimedia University and UNISEL, Selangor. A total number of 460 respondents were involved through stratified random sampling. The data were collected using questionnaires and was analyzed descriptively. The findings show that majority of IPT students have high knowledge in all dimensions, namely the history, policy and the position Malay language globally. However, there are some items in the section of policy and position of Malay language that indicated low level of knowledge. Hence, knowledge towards national language policy and the position of Malay language in the world should be enhanced through mass media or in the process of teaching and learning. This is vital so that students can have better appreciation of the Article 152 in the Malaysian Constitution which focuses on Malay language as the national language, the foundation for unity and building Malaysian civilization.

Abstrak: Makalah ini bertujuan membincangkan tahap pengetahuan bahasa kebangsaan dalam kalangan mahasiswa di institusi pengajian tinggi (awam dan swasta) dari aspek i) sejarah, ii) dasar dan iii) kedudukan bahasa Melayu di dunia. Sehubungan itu, satu kajian telah dijalankan di Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Multimedia dan Unisel, Selangor. Seramai 460 orang responden diperoleh melalui kaedah pensampelan rawak berstrata. Data dikumpul menggunakan borang soal selidik dan dianalisis secara deskriptif. Hasil dapatan menunjukkan majoriti mahasiswa IPT mempunyai pengetahuan yang tinggi terhadap semua dimensi, iaitu sejarah, dasar dan kedudukan bahasa Melayu di dunia. Namun, terdapat beberapa item dalam dimensi dasar dan kedudukan bahasa Melayu yang menunjukkan pengetahuan yang rendah. Justeru, pengetahuan mengenai dasar bahasa kebangsaan dan kedudukan bahasa Melayu di dunia perlu dipertingkatkan melalui media massa atau dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran agar mahasiswa dapat lebih menghayati Perkara 152 Perlembagaan Malaysia mengenai bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan yang menjadi teras kepada perpaduan seterusnya tamadun Malaysia.