Selangor to check all road signs for language blunders

Nabihah Hamid Nabihah Hamid Updated 7 years ago · Published on 20 Nov 2018 11:10AM · 9 Comments

Jalan Balai Raya C in Shah Alam also contains Chinese characters which are larger than the Bahasa Malaysia words. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Kamal Ariffin, November 20, 2018.

SELANGOR will conduct a state-wide check on all road signs to ensure they adhere to language and design guidelines, said political secretary to the menteri besar Borhan Aman Shah.

The move is in response to a recent photo circulating on social media of a sign in Shah Alam with Chinese characters.

Yesterday, the sultan of Selangor issued a royal decree for all road signs in Shah Alam with Chinese characters to be replaced with Bahasa Malaysia before Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s 73rd birthday celebrations next month.

Borhan said the state government has already directed all relevant authorities to carry out the royal instructions.

“We will immediately remove (the sign), and all other road signs will be checked, if they don’t follow the guidelines, we will take action,” Borhan told The Malaysian Insight.

“We are now checking the Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya areas.”

The sign with Chinese characters was in clear violation of the state’s guidelines on the use of foreign languages and font size, he said.

“If you look at that viral photo, the Chinese characters are quite large and placed on top. I understand that they need to be placed beneath (Bahasa Malaysia).”

Borhan Aman Shah, political secretary to the menteri besar, says Selangor is checking road signs in Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya for violations of national language use. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, November 20, 2018.

Guidelines on dual-language road signs which were issued on January 13, 2017, state that words in Bahasa Malaysia must be 30% larger than other languages.

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

Yesterday, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) issued a statement expressing concerns that the use of other languages apart from the national language on road signs could erode the importance of Bahasa Malaysia.

“This issue should not have occurred because under Article 152 of the federal constitution, the national language is Bahasa Melayu which must be used officially,” it said. – November 20, 2018. 

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Comments

  • Unusually, the 1MDB and other financial scandals that have crippled our economy was of no concern to the palace but this issue is a priority? Why because of Malay nationalism bordering on racism?

    Posted 7 years ago by Gerard Lourdesamy · Reply

  • Is this really true or someone purposely do one up to trigger the slumber palace. Economy and hardship affecting rakyat are never being noticed but such triviality hold extreme importance.

    Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • Hallo DBP, if the use of other language in road or other signages may erode the national language, then what about the melayu-nisation of English words??
    Deklarasi? Motivasi? Aplikasi?
    Whats next? Nation becomes Nasi?

    Posted 7 years ago by Rock Hensem · Reply

  • What disgraceful leadership by the Sultan Selangor. When there was 1MBD no leadership was shown. When there was the Selangor MB crisis , the Sultan Selangor was in Hungary on holidays and did not see the need to return to Selangor in a hurry. And here he is concerned about languages. It is okay for your salary to be paid by Chinesse and Indian money but not okay to have road signs in Chinesse and Indian language. " Katak bawah tempurung" best describes the situation.

    The only Malays who succeed are the ones that know 2 languages. Here they are comparing the letters just like male morons who compare the size of penis , it is not the size that counts , it is the performance. Singapore has road signs in 3 languages. No surprise Singapore is number 1 in education whereas Malaysia ranks 51

    Posted 7 years ago by Aran Thillainathan · Reply

  • It is good to standardize, no harm done.

    Posted 7 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

    • I am triple lingual. ;)

      Posted 7 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • What is going to be next? Kopitiams, hawker centres, Kedai-kedai Ubat, restaurants .... When is the end? There are other better things to do and save for our country la.

    Posted 7 years ago by Awang Bilis · Reply

  • We should also install a speaker on road signs for the blinds. Provide magnifying glasses for those with eyes problem. Glaze with LED lights to make them visible at night. Plant flowers by the road signs for green environment. Paint the road signs in orangey red color to represent Harapan government. We can change colour to blue or green if BN or PAS take over. Or yellow to indicate Shah Alam as royal town so that His Majesty can be proud of.

    Posted 7 years ago by Awang Bilis · Reply

  • wow...so the whole state of Selangor is to be checked?....why did he not ask for najib to be checked???...

    Posted 7 years ago by Lipdah Lia · Reply