Former police chief Hanif Omar was among 20 protesting against Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng over the latter's move to issue a written statement in Chinese last Thursday.
Also at the protest was former Dewan Negara president Zahar Ujang and former Malaysia Airlines CEO Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman.
The protest involved a march from Masjid Putra, Putrajaya after Friday prayers to the Finance Ministry some 1.2km away. The protesters held placards stating “Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa” and “Love Bahasa”.
Hanif told the protestors that Lim had violated the Federal Constitution by issuing a statement in Chinese because government affairs should be conducted in Bahasa Malaysia.
“He should protect the supremacy of the constitution because he has taken an oath to do so […] Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad made a mistake in failing to see (Lim’s) stubbornness.
“Therefore, we must protest so they realise it,” he said.
Abdul Aziz, who is Malay Consultative Council (MPM) advisor, said it was not wrong for Lim to communicate in any language but official documents should be in Bahasa Malaysia.
“He can use whatever language at the coffee shop but for official matters, it cannot be in any other language other than in Bahasa Malaysia,” he said.
The group’s protest letter was submitted to a Finance Ministry representative after they had gathered for about half-an-hour.
Last Thursday, Lim had held a press conference on Putrajaya’s policy on the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) project in Bahasa Malaysia and English.
His accompanied written statement to the press was in three languages - Bahasa Malaysia, English and Chinese.
Following this, there were complaints by BN supporters online against Lim for issuing the written statement in Chinese.
Lim responded to the complaints by writing an explanation in Chinese on his Facebook page.
This led to a long list of Umno leaders condemning Lim for purportedly releasing only a Chinese written statement. - Mkini
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