Stop dancing to the ‘old man’s tune’ on DBKL signage issue, says MP

PETALING JAYA: Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung has urged both the government and opposition to stop “dancing to the old man’s tune” on the issue of signages in the national language, an apparent reference to remarks by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the matter.

Likening being guided by Mahathir’s remarks to “dancing with a wolf”, Lee said doing so would only push both the government and opposition backwards.

“The (Malay) idiom ‘dancing with a wolf’ means to be with someone who brings danger. If we dance to (Mahathir’s) tune, both the government and the opposition will risk moving backwards,” he said in a post on Facebook.

The issue, which has been hotly debated in Parliament, started last month when Kuala Lumpur City Hall said it had issued 20 fault notices and 10 enforcement notices to shop owners for “using languages other than the national language in an excessive manner” from January till Oct 16 this year.

On Nov 18, Mahathir questioned why shops were allowed to install signboards that did not use the Malay language, after visiting one of the newer shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur.

He claimed that Malaysia was unlike other Southeast Asian nations as it allowed shops to prominently display Chinese characters, possibly due to the numerous tourists from China.

Mahathir said while using Chinese characters on signboards was fine, it should be limited to translations in smaller characters.

Lee said he regretted that the issue had taken up excessive time in Parliament and the media, which could have been used to discuss more important matters.

He said the authorities were merely enforcing the Advertisement (Federal Territory) By-laws 1982, which mandated that all advertisements should be primarily in Malay while allowing the inclusion of other languages.

“DBKL’s policies and enforcement do not oppress any languages, or prevent the usage of other languages.”

Lee said the by-laws require that Malay lettering be given priority and should be a bigger font size than those in other languages on signboards.

“Business owners who wish their logos to be bigger can trademark their logos.

“This is the government’s approach to creating a conducive business environment that does not compromise on the usage of the national language, while also giving space to the development of other languages,” he said.

Last week, tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing also hit out at Mahathir for his criticism of signboards in Chinese, saying such remarks could affect the country’s diversity and tourism industry.

In a statement, he also claimed DBKL’s enforcement actions had caused tourists to question Malaysia’s openness and inclusiveness.

Tiong’s response then drew a backlash, with Umno veterans backing a call for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to replace Tiong for his “humiliating” statement on the matter.

Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin suggested that the government consider changing Tiong’s portfolio to one focussed on enforcement action.