Former transport ministry secretary-general Ramon Navaratnam called DBP director-general Hazami Jahari’s statement “ridiculous”.
Navaratnam said there was a need for “a more balanced, reasonable and rational approach” to the matter.
“It’s ridiculous for (DBP director-general) Hazami Jahari to make statements like this.
“If Bahasa Melayu is ignored deliberately, then people have a right to question why. But it is bad to label everybody who uses English (in government material) as disrespecting the Federal Constitution.
“This is a complicated and emotional matter. The government should discuss this issue at the Cabinet level because one misguided directive can cause confusion and misunderstanding,” he told FMT.
Navaratnam, who also held the post of deputy secretary-general in the finance ministry, said he “would have struggled” if forced to conduct all matters in Bahasa Melayu.
“If you receive a letter from a foreign embassy, you don’t reply in Malay—it would show disrespect to the other country,” he added.
Former trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz agreed. She said many nations nowadays prioritise English for its vital role in enabling effective communication and accessing a vast repository of knowledge.
“Why are we trying so hard to move backwards?
“We won independence because our fathers of independence could stand tall with the colonialists and were able to negotiate our nation’s independence with English,” she said.
Rafidah said that, in her time, the fluency of Malaysian officials in English made the use of interpreters at international meetings unnecessary.
“Is it not shameful for government functionaries in this day and age to require interpretation and translation at meetings, especially in high-level international meetings?”
She urged DBP to drop its “cocooned” mindset, reminding the agency that there was an entire world beyond Malaysia’s borders.
On March 24, Hazami said official reprimands were issued to event organisers and management-level staff for their use of English at official functions attended by Malaysians.
He cited the use of English in public displays, including the names of programmes like “Back to School” and “KL Car-Free Morning”, and also questioned the use of English at government events even when attended by just two or three foreign participants.
Hazami claimed that civil servants who do not use Bahasa Melayu in government affairs were disrespecting the Federal Constitution, citing Article 152, which he says makes the use of the Malay language mandatory by government departments in official matters. - FMT
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