From English to Malay
My command of English has always been far superior to my mastery of Malay. Perhaps to my detriment. Despite my tuition, I scored a P7 for my Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language; ‘BM’ or Malay) for my SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia; the domestic O-level equivalent) exams, which I took in Form Five secondary school when I was 16 years old. P means pass. 7 was the upper end of the P grade. Below that was P8. …