YOURSAY | ‘A lesson for gov’t officers: Don’t use official letterheads with any language except BM.’
Anonymous_3b6c1f0c: My opinion is that the government should primarily engage the people using Bahasa Malaysia as the official language and use other languages - ie English, Mandarin, and Tamil - in attachments to the official letter as translations to engage the local community.
The private sector has been doing this for a long time with their customers.
For me, the key importance is to engage the communities that are being governed so that services can be effectively delivered and policy decisions communicated and feedback obtained.
The government should focus on using language to improve its delivery of services in our country, which has a diversity of languages and uneven education and literacy levels, so that no one will be left out in any public consultation and implementation of key policies.
Anonymous: I think this is similar to the issue surrounding Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s press release recently.
In Lim’s case, it was justified because of the foreign media’s presence. It served a purpose.
In this case, was it necessary? Please handle this issue with care. We don't want to be seen as "usurping" the Malay political powers.
Harry L Ishmael: I am a staunch Pakatan Harapan supporter, but I will support what the sultan says. The sultan is right.
After 61 years of independence, if there are people who cannot understand or who cannot take the trouble to understand the letter in Bahasa Malaysia, and they are not included in what should be known for their own interests, let them be excluded.
Don't make excuses about the translations. Let's have “satu bangsa, satu bahasa and satu negara” (one nation, one language, and one country).
Anonymous 624161439899012: To the Harapan politicians and appointed officials: Bahasa Malaysia is the official language, so any announcement issued on a government letterhead must be in Bahasa Malaysia.
Translations can make reference to the official letter, and be issued using a personal letterhead or plain paper. Let’s move on to more important things.
Anonymous_f37de788: Well, I guess the problem lies with the official letterhead.
Only the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, will be accepted and qualified for use with the official letterhead.
Many people will not agree with this, and many heated arguments and even racial matters may arise.
This is a lesson for government officers: Don’t use official letterheads with any language except Bahasa Malaysia. It’s just the law.
Straight-Talk: If the concern is over the letterhead, just issue the translation without the letterhead. It is good for every race to understand the letter, especially the elderly.
Lord Denning: In Singapore, the National Day address is given in three languages - Bahasa Melayu, English and Mandarin by the prime minister and in Tamil by one of his ministers.
There may be many senior Malaysians who may speak Malay, but may not be totally fluent in its written form due to lack of opportunity.
So a vernacular version may be helpful. Is it not a friendly and warm gesture?
RM2.6 Billion Turkey Haram: As long as the Chinese letter did not take precedence over the Bahasa version, I do not see any controversy.
Even in Australia, many government notices are issued in English, accompanied by Chinese or even Tamil translations. The public has no complaints, but is full of praise.
Simple Truth Today: As long as the national language takes priority, I don’t see anything wrong in explaining to the multilingual community in other languages to invite them to the meeting.
Former Johor menteri besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin is being vicious in twisting the intentions of the local councillor.
Anonymous 1091741441796621: Why does Johor always have such language issues?
My view is that Bahasa Malaysia, with English, Chinese and Tamil translations for the senior citizens or even foreigners is very considerate.
If I’m not mistaken, the Penang Island City Council always attaches their BM letters with Chinese or Tamil or English translations, which is very thoughtful for the older generation, especially the old uncles and aunties at the market.
Gerard Lourdesamy: The sultan with respect should read the National Language Act 1963/1967 very carefully.
The official version was in BM. The translations were in English and Mandarin. There is no law that prohibits the use of translations in languages other than BM in the public interest.
The councillor was of the view that the translations would be helpful to those whose mother tongue is not BM like for example the purchasers of residential units in the Forest City mega project of which the sultan is a major shareholder.
Just because former MB Khaled Nordin made a baseless allegation it cannot be accepted as the truth without proper verification.
Perhaps the entire state should stop speaking, reading and writing in English and Mandarin.
Anonymous 47051494236322: I believe the councillor wanted more residents to come for the meeting. And some residents may not be well-versed in Bahasa Malaysia.
So, the original copy was in Bahasa Malaysia, followed by Chinese and English.
If the letter is issued in three languages, more residents can come and the outcome of the whole thing will be better. The very important thing is to have more people understand the message. - Mkini
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