It all starts with lingual inequality

That pretty much sums up where we stand with two years leading up to the general election come 2018. In all honesty, it is the main issue that will breed hate, distrust and general misunderstanding among all Malaysians.

But when we talk of inequality, the first thing that pops up is economics. It is more than that, actually. And quite frankly, it starts with language.

Yes, I know. The irony is not lost on me that I am writing this in English. But let us get back to the matter at hand.

It is about equal access to anything and everything from public transport to education. Obviously, can we argue about quality when even access is non-existent?

Of course not. Which is why there is a need for proper development plans on a national scale as well as setting up national blueprints.

With our education system, for example, I believe that blueprint has been thrown out the window. With the excuse that rural students should not be expected to adhere to a mandatory pass on English, our government is stunting the ability of the next generation to have equal access to information.

Plus, with Jobstreet continually highlighting employers unhappy with the quality of English among workers and fresh graduates, it is a given.

But more so politically, it guarantees stunted access in politics and maintaining the status quo.

As I have continually said, English is the main language for accessing the largest educational tool currently available to mankind, which is the Internet. Of course, you also have access to porn, but you also have access to politics on a global scale.

And if you are marketing a change in government, English will not guarantee you equal access in Malaysia because the language is predominantly Bahasa Malaysia.

Why is this?

Because of multiple factors, including once again the urban-rural divide, which subsequently limits the English-learning curve which subsequently creates a community that looks down on those that can speak English and subsequently, leads to this vicious cycle.

An absence of lingual capacity ensures that there will always be a divide, either urban and rural, rich and poor, even racial and religious.

And I'm sure many of you will be yelling "that's absurd", or "that's ridiculous", or "Hafidz is being nuts again" – all of which I admit is quite true, until I highlight a few questions to all of you.

How is it that Sabah, Kelantan and Sarawak can break the divides and have a more united people than we see anywhere else? It is language.

In fact, there is a trend of exclusivity in language even within the Malay general population based on dialects and slangs. Take a look at Selangor, for example, and how the northern states decided to continue being under Umno.

Have a listen at how their politicians endear themselves to the crowd with Javanese phrases.

It is the same with any politician and they do know this and openly speak about it. But the thing is, it is this very issue of language inequality that continues to divide Malaysians throughout the peninsula.

Those speaking English proficiently are derided in the rural areas of being "atas" or aristocratic, while those in the urban setting not speaking good English find themselves derided on social media for even trying.

And then of course, there's a whole different category occupied by Tan Sri Rais Yatim.

How do we overcome this divide? The first is to get everyone proficient enough in one language to the point there is no way to confuse anyone.

France does this, along with many European nations. So does Japan. So does Thailand, Vietnam and even Indonesia.

Or, we can be more inclusive as a nation and promote all languages to everyone.

Singapore does this, and so does Canada.

Until this matter is resolved, we will continue to have hints of suspicion in even everyday dealings all the way up to elections two years from now, and quite frankly we will have the same status quo or worse, especially now with PAS out of the Pakatan Rakyat 2.0 picture.

While many will see the main issue being religious conservatism or liberalism as a divide, they are wrong to think it is the first issue.

What PAS has is the ability to use local tongues to convince people to trust them, regardless of what they believe as an individual. Heck, even concert goers go wild when a foreign artist can turn a phrase or two in Bahasa Malaysia.

English is an important language worldwide, it will get you a job, it will get you international airtime, even cheers from the crowds all around the world.

But what it will not get you is votes, a larger Malay crowd at rallies, or even that change in government you are marketing for in 2018. – September 2, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.