Rushdi Gaafar – A Yemeni with the flair for Malay language

By: MOHD FERDAUS MUSA, CORPORATE COMMUNICATION DIVISION 

Yemeni Rushdi Gaafar Ahmed Baragaa was picked to represent Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) in the International Malay Language Debate Competition (PABM) that was held at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) in Terengganu on December 20, 2018.

Rushdi Gaafar, a student at Faculty of Chemical & Natural Resources Engineering (FKKSA), was selected due to his proficiency in the Malay language.

It was his first attempt in such a competition and he did not do badly because the Yemeni was placed ninth out of the 27 participants. Quite an impressive achievement for Rushdi Gaafar who loved nasi lemak and lontong.

Rushdi Gaafar said the debate was based on a topic titled ‘First Class Undergraduate Propels Progress for the Nation’ and he competed under the international student category.

“I took part in the competition because I am really fascinated by the Malay language. The language is simple, beautiful and the sentence structure is easy to learn.

“When I have good command of the language, I am able to understand the culture here and it helps with my studies here. I am happy to be able to speak and understand the language,” said Rushdi Gaafar who had been living in Malaysia for four years.

He was now trying to learn and understand the Malay poems.

Rushdi Gaafar also said he was thankful to have his lecturers, language teachers and staff in UMP who had helped him with the language.

It would indeed be among the best memories for the Yemeni once he graduated from the university.