KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka agency (DBP) has received 130,000 applications this year for language approval on signboards, advertisements, shop names, and building names.
The increase is due to the recent controversy over Kuala Lumpur City Hall's enforcement of bilingual Chinese-Malay signboards.
This marks a a staggering 420 per cent increase in applications, a rise of over fourfold compared to previous years.
According to a report by China Press, Director of DBP Language and Literature Development Department Director Mohd Salahuddin Mohamed revealed that the agency is now responsible for approving signboards, road signs, shop names, and building names nationwide.
"This has truly surprised us because it is unprecedented.
"Previously, we usually received only 20,000 to 30,000 applications annually," Salahuddin said during the opening ceremony of the Outstanding Malay Language Educators award presentation and the I Love Malay Language student short video competition, organised by the Malaysian Professional Malay Language Educators Association.
He explained that applicants now only need to apply online and make payments via JomPAY, eliminating the need for in-person submissions.
Approval results are provided within three days, after which applicants can proceed with further arrangements at the local government level.
Salahuddin emphasised that, according to local government regulations, signboard installation requires prior approval from DBP.
Regarding the bilingual signboard controversy, he stated that it arose from misunderstandings and a failure to thoroughly review the relevant regulations.
He clarified that Chinese and Tamil words are still allowed on signboards, but the Malay language must be displayed more prominently and in larger fonts.
He stressed that the approval requirement applies to all communities and is not targeted at any specific group.
"This issue happened to Malay speakers where some have called to complain, claiming their language usage was correct, but in fact, it was not. We corrected them," Salahuddin said.