BIM

BIM, known as Malaysian Sign Language in English, is a recent form of communication among people in deaf communities. Since Parsons’ visit in the 70s, deaf Malaysians and people who work with the deaf community use KTM (could be compared to SEE in the states) and deaf Malaysians felt that using KTM complicates their communication to a certain extent that they wanted to re-introduce BIM to their country. People have been working on BIM books for the last few years – trying to spread word on the importance of BIM use.

In this case, I decided to attend a BIM class to learn how to use BIM so I would be able to communicate with ease, given the fact that I work with deaf Malaysians. Some signs I learned are similar to those in ASL. The teacher I had was great because of his flamboyant personality – students love him, and unfortunately I will not be able to take his classes on a regular basis because it conflicts with my interview appointments.