How I helped a college mate scored distinction in Malay.

When Malaysians want to be teachers, they must pass the Malay language with a credit. However, some candidates are granted a place of study in a teachers' college conditionally. One of my college mates belonged to this group. She had only a pass in Malay, so she had to resit the Malay until she got a credit before she could be confirmed in the post of a government teacher.

This girl knew that I was proficient in Malay and asked me to help her with the language. I asked her to write me a Malay essay so that I could ascertain her standard. She was very weak in grammar and so could not express what she intended to say. I marked her essay and returned the almost-coloured-red sheet to her. The next day she copied the essay with my corrections and asked me to read over. My! It was flawless.

From then on she wrote an essay a day and asked me to mark it for her and I willingly obliged her because she was very serious in improving her Malay. Sometimes, she asked me about the mistakes and I explained the rules to her. As days went by, her mistakes became fewer and fewer but she still handed me her essays for correction.

It was a great surprise and pride to me when she passed the Malay paper with a distinction. She thanked profusely for helping her all along.