PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said people should not make a fuss over official letters written in languages other than Bahasa Malaysia.

He said the reason for other languages being used is to ensure the recipients understand the contents.

He gave as an example Eskimos, saying if they wrote him a letter, it would be in English, and not their native language.

“In communications between countries, it is important that the contents of letters are understood by the target audience.

“For instance, I always receive letters from Eskimos, but they write in English (instead of their native language) as otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to understand the contents. This is normal practice,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to Segamat MP Edmund Santhara, of PKR, who questioned if the fuss over official government letters not being in Bahasa Malaysia is warranted.

Dr Mahathir said all official government documents are in Bahasa Malaysia, and those in other languages are simply translations.

“There are translations in other languages, but the official letters are written in Bahasa Malaysia. The Bahasa Malaysia letters are the ones that can be brought to court.”

He said the translations are necessary, such as when doing business with foreigners.

“Sometimes, we use English or other languages to explain something that is not clear, especially to foreigners in a meeting. We need to make sure they understand what we are saying.”

The opposition has attacked ministers in the new Pakatan Harapan government for issuing statements in languages other than Bahasa Malaysia.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng was slammed for issuing statements in Mandarin.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar got the same treatment for issuing a Tamil-language statement on the death of Tamil Nadu’s former chief minister, M. Karunanidhi. – August 14, 2018.