Dr M draws flak over photos of signboards in Chinese

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has drawn flak from netizens over his criticism of signboards with large Chinese characters and English translations, but nothing in Malay.

A day after questioning if Malaysia had “become part of China”, the administrator of Mahathir’s X account shared pictures of such signboards of several shops at the Pavilion Bukit Jalil shopping mall.

The administrator said these photos were taken by Mahathir himself when visiting the mall.

However, netizens were quick to disparage the political veteran, questioning why the signboards should be in Malay when these shops sold non-halal food and their target market was Chinese customers.

“If they write ‘roti babi’ (pork buns in Malay) then it would become another issue,” said @wafty_ali.

Similarly, @amino71165 said translating non-halal food products to Malay could “confuse” Muslims.

Others accused Mahathir of practising double standards, pointing out that the now-closed The Loaf bakery that he had owned had an English name and did not have a Malay translation.

One user, @matunique67, also asked cynically whether The Loaf had a Jawi translation on its signboard.

Yesterday, Mahathir said the use of Chinese characters on signboards was fine, but should be limited to translations in smaller characters.

He said his recent visit to Pavilion Bukit Jalil made him feel like he was suddenly in China. While he acknowledged that this could be due to the number of tourists from China, he maintained that “our national language is Malay”.

Last month, 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.

It reminded shop owners to prioritise the use of Malay on their signboards, saying the signboards were not mere decorations but were regulated under the Advertisement (Federal Territory) By-laws 1982.