00:00Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned authorities for allowing shops
00:07to display signboards in Chinese with English translations, with nothing in the Malay language.
00:13Mahathir said he noticed this in several shops in a newer shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur,
00:18adding that he felt as though he was in China.
00:21He said while the use of Chinese characters on signboards was acceptable, it should be
00:26limited to translations in smaller characters.
00:30Mahathir claimed that Malaysia was unlike other Southeast Asian nations by allowing
00:35shops to display Chinese characters prominently.
00:39He acknowledged that this could be due to the number of tourists from China, but stressed
00:43that Malay is still the national language.
00:46Last month, Kuala Lumpur City Hall said it issued 20 fault notices and 10 enforcement
00:51notices to shop owners for using languages other than the national language in an excessive
00:56manner.
00:58Shop owners were reminded to prioritize using Malay on signboards as they are regulated
01:02under the Advertisement Federal Territory Bylaws 1982 and are not mere decorations.
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