Heads must roll for bad English in public notices, say politicians

Gan Pei Ling Gan Pei Ling Updated 6 years ago · Published on 2 Jan 2018 7:28PM · 9 Comments

This notice at the Perak Tourism Information Centre has gone viral on social media. Ipoh Mayor Zamri Man says a show-cause letter would be issued against the person responsible. However, Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz says bad English has not stopped tourists from going to other countries such as China and Thailand. – Facebook pic, January 2, 2018.

SO EMBARRASSING.

That was the general consensus among politicians and an activist after a photograph of an error-ridden Perak Tourism Information Centre notice went viral and was even reported in a Singapore newspaper.

Stern action must be taken against civil servants and private sector employees who put up public notices with bad English as they reflect poorly on the country, said politicians.

“This is not acceptable. This affects the image of the Perak state government and the country. Firm action must be taken against the person responsible,” Gerakan vice-president Dominic Lau told The Malaysian Insight.

He added that Malaysians must have a good command of English if it wants to become a developed country.

MCA publicity spokesperson Ti Lian Ker said heads must roll as the signs reflect the civil service’s tolerance for incompetence and poor administration.

“Don’t tell me they couldn’t find anyone with good English, even in their public relations department,” said Ti.

Yesterday, The Star published a report on the error-ridden Perak Tourism Information Centre notice that read: “Sorry for the complementary, we are closing for the temporary, Saturday 30/12/2017 and Sunday, 31/12/2017 because we had an unexpected problem within with our networking and air conditioner issue. We are sure that we are been operated on 2nd Jan 2018. Tq”

Ipoh Mayor Zamri Man had said a show-cause letter and stern warning would be issued against the person responsible.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said a senior civil servant should have checked the notice before it was put up, and those responsible should not be dependent on web applications like Google Translate.

“These signs are an indictment not of civil servants per se but of our entire education system,” said Ong, adding that graduates’ poor grasp of English was a common complaint among employers. 

A defiant Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, however, came to the defence of the Perak Tourism Information Centre.

“It’s not an issue. I’ve seen similar bad English in China and Thailand. It did not stop tourists from going there. In fact, they are ahead of us.

“We are in tourism, not in an English language class. We only need good hospitality and being a welcoming host to all tourists,” he said.

This new year greeting from the Petaling Perdana District Education Office is making the rounds on social media. Politicians say error-ridden public notices reflect poorly on the country and the Education Ministry must implement sound policies and programmes to improve the command of English among Malaysians. – The Malaysian Insight pic, January 2, 2018.

Meanwhile, a new year greeting with poor English from the Petaling Perdana District Education Office has also been making the rounds on social media.

It reads: “Happy New Year 2018. New Year begin, let us pray, that it will be a year with new Peace, New Happiness, and abundance of all, May Almighty bless your through out the new year.”

Slightly more than a week ago, Malaysia Airports had to apologise for a bunting at the Kelantan airport which read: “Mary Christmas” and “Happy New Years”.

Malaysia Airports has apologised for a bunting at the Kelantan airport. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, January 2, 2018.

In 2015, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall was slammed by social media users for its welcoming message on a billboard for then visiting US president: “Welcome to the President of USA Barack Obama”.

Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said it is regrettable that the standard of English among civil servants had gone down over the years.

“Back in the 60s, 70s and up to the 80s our civil servants were very well-versed in English.

“Unfortunately, changes to education policies have produced a new generation of Malaysians with very poor command of the language,” said the DAP parliamentary spokesman for education, science and technology.

All four politicians – Lau, Ti, Ong and Zairil – said the Education Ministry must implement sound policies and programmes to improve the command of English among Malaysians.

“Our English policy must be consistent. It cannot change at the whim of the (education) minister,” said Ti, adding that some Malay educationists must remove their prejudices towards English as a colonial language.

Education watchdog Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the Education Ministry should reintroduce English-medium schools, which were phased out after Malaya’s independence.

“Just start with Sabah, Sarawak and Johor. Then send the students to the UK to get their bachelor’s degree or diploma in English.

“We need to produce our own English teachers like we did before,” said Noor Azimah, adding that it would benefit every child to have a good command of both English and Bahasa Malaysia. – January 2, 2018.

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Comments

  • This is the consequences when your leader is incompetent and can't even pronounce an English word correctly. Go back to school and learn English #101. LOL.

    Posted 6 years ago by Chosen One · Reply

    • .......... with MO2, we can possibly die laughing .....

      Posted 6 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • So, what this nazri creature is telling is, if it is o.k. in china and thailand, it is ok here too. These imbecile forgets that English is being taught from kindergarten till graduation. As such, certain level of competency is expected from the civil service. It seems common sense is not common for this arrogant knuckle-head. It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense - Robert G.Ingersoll.

    Posted 6 years ago by Nathanji Devan · Reply

  • How can Malaysians improve their English ...... when there are even "extremists" in RTM who removed English subtitles from Malay (and other) movies ............ including P. Ramlee's and other vintages?

    Posted 6 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • Can we fully trust many of our Government Medical Professionals (including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc) who REFUSED to upgrade their skills because they found it difficult to comprehend latest research and journals printed mainly in English?

    Posted 6 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply

  • Head must roll in Malaysian term means getting PROMOTED .

    Posted 6 years ago by Mohanarajan murugeson · Reply

  • An effective leader must possess high communication skill to influence his/her subordinates. We have witnessed a corporate officer of a French multinational corporation struggling with "Chinglish". We do not understand most of his statements and we end-up paying fines and/or penalties. Within 4 years - he sank the company with massive losses, consumer complaints and court cases. Read more toxic management at changenow083.blogspot.com

    Posted 6 years ago by Chris Ng · Reply

  • Heads must roll??? You muse be crazy! Putrajaya is trying to locate the guy to decorate him ...... a master piece showcasing the success in murdering the English language after 40 years of hard work !!! Another milestone achieved indoctrinating patriotism............

    Posted 6 years ago by KH Chan · Reply

  • This is the reality in Malaysia. No one to blame but ourselves for not recognising the impact when the decision to drop English as the medium of education decades ago. The Rakyat have to wake up and force the change, otherwise we are going to be left out compared to our Asean neighbours.

    Posted 6 years ago by Zainal Othman · Reply