Malaysians must know BM - home minister on Immigration Dept incident

 

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has defended the Immigration Department over an alleged incident where an officer in Johor scolded a woman and her daughter for not being able to speak Bahasa Malaysia and responding to his questions in English instead.

This comes after the woman highlighted the matter on social media. Although the posting is no longer available, it was reported that the woman had explained that their poor command of Bahasa Malaysia was due to them residing in Singapore for a long time.

However, Saifuddin contended that the authorities have a reason to be suspicious when a Malaysian is unable to converse in the national language.

“I hope parents can understand that every citizen must learn and have a good command of the national language.

“Do not make an issue out of this to such an extent, where a government agency is accused of complicating the process of renewing a passport just because of certain conditions,” he told a press conference in Putrajaya.

“Don't look at this from one perspective, but also look at it as (your) duty to have command of the language while you live in this country.

“If you can't (understand the national language), it can lead to suspicion, for example - are you really a citizen since you can't even speak the language?” he added.

Saifuddin said Bahasa Malaysia's position as the national language has been cemented in the Federal Constitution, which underscores its importance.

"...We cannot compromise on this. If Bahasa Malaysia is the main language, then we must learn Bahasa Malaysia. (At least) learn to pass.

“But are we prohibited from learning other languages? Certainly not. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to learn it, and we cannot compromise on this,” he added.

Saifuddin also revealed that the authorities have managed to thwart several fraud cases involving travel documents based on similar red flags.

In some cases, he said, officers had caught parents who registered other people's children as their own. - Mkini