In Love With Malaysia Reason For Mastering Malay Language

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), July 25 (Bernama) -- Australian student Emilia Lisa Sterjova developed a passion to learn and improve her command of Bahasa Melayu after falling in love with Malaysia, batik paintings and Malay cultural dances at the age of 12. The 20-year-old International Relations student at La Trobe University, Melbourne, who is one of the participants of the 2017 Prime Minister’s Cup Bahasa Melayu International Oratory Competition also regards Malaysia as a country which is ‘close’ to Australia. “I'm in love with Malay culture. “I get to practise on the language by listening to a one-hour programme being aired weekly over a radio channel in Australia,” she told reporters at a tea reception for participants of the competition at the Seri Perdana here Monday. Meanwhile, German participant Benedikt Aspacher (picture), 25, a final year student of South East Asia Studies at Frankfurt University, said the Malay language and culture have varied influences from around the world. “The Malay language has words which derived from Dutch, Arabic, Persian and other languages. “It’s like the language represents the languages of the world,” he said, adding that Bahasa Melayu is a compulsory subject for Southeast Asian Studies students at his university. The 11th edition of the competition this year sees the participation of 52 orators from countries including Australia, Germany, Azerbaijan, China, Fiji, India, Egypt, Nigeria, Palestine, France and South Korea. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA