Another pointer: Spell it right

This is basically an addendum to the blog post yesterday.

Back in the UK, when I was secretary to a student's organisation, I was reminded by the president to ensure that the spellings for everyone's name is correct and accurate. Since then, I have been giving extra attention in making sure that I got everyone's name correctly spelt.

The same applies when we write to organisations and companies. If one is a jobseeker, and is writing to the organisation or company that one is applying to, it is imperative that one makes sure that the name of the potential employer is correct, right down to each individual letter.

For example, the organisation that I am attached to is Yayasan Ilmuwan. It is a very typical mistake that many people make when they spell the word "Ilmuwan" as "Ilmuan". In Bahasa Melayu, there is no such word as ilmuan contrary to what many people may think. Ilmuwan means "scholar(s)". Essentially, the suffix wan when added to a noun or a verb would turn the word into a noun that refers to a person.

Common examples include angkasawan, olahragawan, dermawan, rupawan, agamawan, etc. Hence, the same rule applies to ilmuwan. I suspect the problem arises because ilmu ends with the letter "u", and when one pronounces ilmuwan, there is a tendency to think that the word is spelt without the "w" that comes after "u".

I notice most applicants who write to Yayasan Ilmuwan made this common mistake, i.e. by spelling "Ilmuan" instead of "Ilmuwan". The mistake in the spelling highlights the lack of attention given to the smallest of details.

Perhaps, what struck me as even weirder is that there are also applicants who got the name wrong altogether. There are at least two applicants who I noticed addressed their applications to "Yayasan Ilmu".

What happened to the wan? It's one thing to drop the "w", but to drop three letters altogether is simply unbelievable.

The correct spelling for the names of organisations and companies should not be taken lightly. There are also organisations and companies which have spellings that may be grammatically wrong or for historical reasons are spelt using the old system of spelling. PETRONAS as we know is the short form of Petroliam Nasional Berhad. Let's not be a smart alec and change the spelling "Petroliam" into "Petroleum" in this instance. Or the word "Bandaraya" in the case of Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur should not be changed into "Bandar Raya" even though the latter is the correct form of spelling according to the latest system of spelling.

I am sure none of us would be happy if our names are spelt wrong, so treat the spelling for these names just like the way we would want people to spell our names.

Correctly.