Abstract:

Malay Traditional Script also known as Jawi script is always associated with the identity and cultural heritage of the Malay society. Since decades, Jawi script has been used for teaching and learning religious knowledge and the Malay traditional cultures. However, current development has seen majority of the Malay Muslim new generations were not be able to read and write jawi script properly thus giving some impacts on their capability to recite the Quran and other classical religious materials mostly written in Jawi script. Several studies conducted confirm the issue together with some recommendations and suggestions. This paper will therefore discuss the development of Jawi script and its association with the Malay community, besides proposing new approaches in learning jawi effectively, and looking to the future prospects of this Malay traditional script. The study involves a survey on selected secondary school students and their mastery of writing and reading Jawi script. All the data are analyzed and presented according to specific themes. Results of the study show that there are still positive prospects for Jawi writing in Malaysia. Several studies conducted also found that different states in Malaysia having diffrent approaches in strengthening religious identity among their students in particular, mastery jawi script and its writings.

Keywords:

Jawi script, Malay identity, islam.