PUTRAJAYA: THE national language is the strongest unifying factor, irrespective of race or religion. It also plays an important role in bridging the gap between the nation’s multi-ethnic community, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said upholding the national language was, thus, paramount. He added that there was a need to improve on the use of Bahasa Malaysia under the National Language Policy.
“Year after year, I have never failed to observe that the value and usage of our national language differs from one group to another.
“This has slowed the government’s pace in making the national language as a language of unity in the nation.”
Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, urged all Malaysians, regardless of race, to place a higher value on the national language to ensure its development and to move forward as a nation.
“Using Bahasa Malaysia will allow us to achieve our objective, which is to use the national language to foster unity among Malaysians under the policy.”
He said this at the launch of the national-level National Language Month at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here.
Citing developed countries such as France, Germany, China and South Korea, Muhyiddin said Malaysia should follow in their footsteps as these countries gave a high priority to their national languages.
Muhyiddin said the government was still committed in using Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction in local universities. A study is being carried out at six local universities for using the language.
This, he said, was an initiative under the Malaysian Educational Development Plan 2013-2025 to empower the usage of the national language.
“For the early stages, the universities are audited by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) and soon, the Bahasa Malaysia IPT audit will be conducted in all local universities.”
He also said the action plan might be extended to private universities to ensure that the use of the national language was not compromised in the learning and teaching process of those institutions.
Muhyiddin also stressed the proper and correct usage of Bahasa Malaysia on signboards, billboards and other advertising platforms.
“The citra bahasa (portrayal of the language) in public places requires the dedication of local authorities in enforcing advertising laws, which outlines the priority of the national language to be used on billboards, the names of businesses, buildings, and other places.”
He said the increase in naming of housing estates, markets, warehouses and institutions that did not reflect proper portrayal of Bahasa Malaysia was alarming.
Muhyiddin said the 67th National Local Government Meeting, which he chaired on March 4, had agreed that private and government agencies were required to obtain confirmation and a certificate of approval from DBP before posting billboards in public places.
“I hope all local authorities will enforce this requirement to ensure advertisers and any parties requesting to display something in public comply with the regulations.”
Muhyiddin said the challenge to make the national language the lingua franca of knowledge and thought had become difficult with the existence of new media, which was prone to be free from all norms of decency, behaviour and language.
Besides encouraging good manners, he said the media should also play its role as an agent of society, or socialisation, through the use of quality and organised language.
The national-level National Language Celebration Month is held annually, and this year’s celebration began last month, and will end in November.
One of the objectives of the campaign is to strengthen and promote the usage of Bahasa Malaysia as it would help to foster unity among the people.
Present were social and cultural affairs adviser to the government Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim, DBP director-general Datuk Dr Awang Sariyan, education director-general Datuk Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof, Public Service director-general Tan Sri Zabidi Zainal and Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.