CHINESE road signs that were installed in Shah Alam did not have the state government’s approval, said Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.

Amirudin said the matter was not even discussed at the state meetings but decided at local council level.

He said the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) approved the signs last year.

 “I checked and discovered that the matter was not brought to the state level. The approval was not given by the state government but was based on a proposal by the local council,” he said in Gombak, today.

“The proposal was then implemented in areas where the Chinese community is the majority.

Amirudin also said that it was unnecessary for the state government to apologise to the sultan of Selangor over the matter.

He added he had asked Selangor Local Government, Public Transport and New Village Development Committee chairman Ng Sze Han to review the state policy on languages used on road signs.

“We adhere to the sultan’s order but I don’t think there is a need to apologise. I have ordered for a review of the policy on languages on road signs,” he said.

He added that the state government was committed in using and defending Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.

On Monday, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah decreed that all road signs in Shah Alam with Chinese characters be replaced with signs with only Bahasa Malaysia.

A letter issued by the palace to the Selangor government, dated November 19, said the signs must be removed immediately and replaced before Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s 73rd birthday celebrations next month.

Among the roads in Shah Alam that had signs with Chinese characters are Jalan Balai Raya C, a photo of which is being circulated on social media as netizens discuss the issue.

Following that, the state opposition had urged the exco in charge to apologise to the ruler. – November 21, 2018.