Mustaf - international student fluent in Malay

Seeing earthy character that no one thought Mustaf Mohamed, 23, a Somali national and international students have the nationality of the United Kingdom's interests and fluent in Malay.

"I also like to be friends with Malaysian friends and when playing football together it gives me a chance to remember more languages and be closer to them," he said in an evening's sports interest.

In fact, he is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree active in public speaking activities.

The encouragement to explore the Malay language is the result of the success of his elder brother, Mohamed Maahad recently graduated from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and won the International Malay Oratory Prime Minister's Cup (PABM) a few years ago.

His talent attracted the Malay Language Teacher in Centre for Modern Languages, UMP, Mdm. Juwairiah Osman.

Trusting with his talent and determination, Mustaf was exposed and trained with members of the UMP Orator Club Mohd Khairil Redza, Ahmad Aiman, Adnan Syahmi, Nurayuni Norli, Aslyana Amirul, Amin Rahman and thus managed to master the Malay language very well.

According to Juwairiah, Mustaf was lucky to be selected to represent the UMP in the recent PABM Competition.

Also nominated for the international category were Ali Khatib Juma of Tanzania and Maliha Tahsin of Bangladesh.

Mustaf delivered a speech entitled "Refugees and Immigrants Generate Economic Recovery" that shared the story of his family who were Somali immigrants who had emigrated to the United Kingdom.

Facing a difficult situation was not the first obstacle for his parents to succeed in their careers and open a business in the country.

Notably, Mustaf finished seventh out of 35 entries for the recent international student in Malaysia PABM 2019 category held at the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Perak.

PABM has been held since 2006, organized by the Division of Student Holistic, Department of Higher Education (JPT) and Malaysian Universities Debating Council (MADUM) to uphold the Malay language to the world.

The experience of participating in this competition will surely give him the best memories.

Besides being able to get acquainted with students from other universities, participants had the opportunity to learn the Malay culture in the Malay Village, Kampung Misa and tourist destination as well as other Malay culture places in the state of Perak.

"I will write in English and ask for help from language teachers or other friends to be translated into Malay.”

"Memorizing, remembering and using sentences in conversations over time will become a habit," said Mustaf, who shares easy language-learning tips.

He also expressed his gratitude for the assistance of other language teachers, lecturers and students who supported him and other international students in enjoying the exciting campus life experience of the university.

By                   : JUWAIRIAH OSMAN, CENTRE FOR MODERN LANGUAGES 
Translation by: AMINATUL NOR MOHAMED SAID, FACULTY OF COMPUTING