THE government will amend the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Act 1959 to allow DBP to take action against any violation of Bahasa Melayu usage, including at the district level.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said under the current DBP Act, the government agency did not have the power to carry out enforcement on language offences.

“The DBP Act will be strengthened to give DBP enforcement powers. For example, the use of Bahasa Melayu on signboards, DBP can take action against language abuse,” he said when winding up the debate at the UMNO general assembly 2021 here today.

In upholding Bahasa Melayu, Ismail Sabri, who is also UMNO vice-president, said all foreign students in the country must learn the language and the matter was agreed on by Higher Education Minister Dr Noraini Ahmad.

Apart from that, the prime minister said a circular had been issued to agencies, ministries and government-linked companies to use Bahasa Melayu in their programmes. – Bernama, March 19, 2022.