JOHOR BHARU: A total of 11 senior citizens and foreigners are learning the Malay language in a class organized by Stulang state assemblyman Andrew Chan Kar Eng.

Chan said he decided to start a class for senior citizens to learn Malay after discovering that many of them were unable to communicate in the language.

More than half of the students in the class are senior citizens aged 60 and above, and one of them is a Taiwanese housewife.

Many are learning the Malay language to communicate with civil servants effectively while the Taiwanese housewife is learning the language to communicate with her Indonesian maid at home.

The class, which started on July 11, is conducted from 11 am to 1 pm every Tuesday at 32, Jalan Kerambit 3, Taman Sri Tebrau.

The students pay RM50 a month for the three-month course taught by Sek Choon Chiang.

Liang, a 72-year-old student, takes two buses to attend the class.

He is now getting a lift from Sek to attend the class.

Liang, who learned Malay at school but hardly used the language at work, is now re-learning the language.

Another 80-year-old senior citizen, Luo is learning the language so that he can communicate with his Malay neighbors.

“Another reason for me to learn the language is to understand the speeches made by members of parliament in Dewan Rakyat,” he said.