Are we part of China now, says Dr M after visiting KL mall

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned the authorities for allowing shops to put up signboards in Chinese with English translations, with nothing in the Malay language.

Mahathir said he noticed several of such shops after visiting a newer shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur over the past weekend, saying “suddenly I felt I was in China”.

He maintained that the use of Chinese characters on signboards was fine, but said this should be limited to translations in smaller characters.

“For English, I can understand why. Even in Japan signboards have English translations. But (these signboards in KL had) big Chinese characters.

“Is this Malaysia or have we become a part of China?” he said in a post on X.

Mahathir claimed that Malaysia was unlike other Southeast Asian nations by allowing shops to display Chinese characters prominently, acknowledging that it could be due to the number of tourists from China.

“But our national language is Malay,” he said.

Last month, Kuala Lumpur City Hall said it 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 to 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.