Companies, Universities Must Correspond With Government in Malay!

The Prime Minister has reminded all companies and universities to correspond with government agencies in Malay. According to PMX there seems to be a “deviation” from the constitutional commitment to uphold Malay as the national language. Article 152 of the Federal Constitution states that Malay cannot be disputed on its functions and in its role as the national language. The position of Malay is also specified in the National Language Act 1967. The PM instructed government agencies to return correspondence written in a language other than Malay.

He stressed that he was not belittling other languages, but his emphasis on the usage of Malay serves as a call to strengthen the national language as part of nation-building. He also called for higher education institutions and schools to promote the use of Malay. 

Source: https://ms.wikipedia.org

Meanwhile, Sarawak will continue to accept official correspondence written in English from local companies or public and private institutions despite Prime Minister’s “reminder” not to entertain any letter that is not in Malay. The State Secretary said Sarawak has no intention of complying with the directive from the Prime Minister to government agencies.

This is not the first time Sarawak has held opposing views with the federal government when it comes to language-related policies. In June 2022, Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg said the state civil service would continue to use English as the official language alongside the national language – Malay. This was in response to the Chief Secretary to the Government’s statement where he wanted the public services department (JPA) to look into actions that could be taken against those who did not take instructions to strengthen the national language seriously.

The Sarawak government had also taken its own stand on other contentious language-related issues, such as the recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) for students from Chinese-medium schools.

Sarawak seems to operate with some autonomy. Perhaps, other than defence and international relations Sarawak could act on its own mandate. Wasn’t that what MA63 was supposed to do originally?

References:

Anwar tells companies, universities to correspond with govt in Malay, Lynelle Tham, FMT, 25 October 2023

Sarawak will still accept letters in English, says state secretary, FMT, 25 October 2023