DBP SHOULD BE GRANTED LEGAL AUTHORITY TO ELEVATE STATUS OF MALAY LANGUAGE

By Rozainah Abdul Rahim and Nur Nabihah Dini Kassim

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) should be granted legal authority to defend the identity and elevate the status of the Malay language as the national language in this country.

Malaysian Indian Writers’ Group (Kavyan) founder Uthaya Sankar SB, is of the view that DBP, as a statutory body, could only enforce measures to preserve the language's identity if it is empowered through legal provisions.

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“I strongly agree with the suggestion, but we should not blame DBP in this matter, as there are too many constraints and obstacles that continue to hinder DBP from asserting its authority in this regard.

“For instance, amending the DBP Act cannot be done by DBP itself. Instead, there must be political will among members of Parliament and the Cabinet,” he told Bernama.

He hopes the issue will garner the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a passionate advocate of the language, who can take the political initiative to grant DBP the authority and promptly table a motion to amend the DBP Act.

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Yesterday, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob suggested that DBP be given more power to enforce the law, so there would be no overlap with other entities, such as local authorities.

He reportedly said that the last time the DBP Act 1959 was amended was in 1995, nearly 30 years ago, and it has not been updated to reflect current issues.

Assistant Prof Dr Charanjit Kaur, a lecturer at the Faculty of Creative Industries, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), believes that DBP should be granted greater authority to enforce the law in cases involving the misuse of the Malay language.

“This is crucial to ensuring that the status of the Malay language remains strong as the national language, respected and widely used by all levels of society.

“With this authority, DBP will be able to take firm action against those who undermine, mix, or marginalise the Malay language in official matters or public communication,” she said.

According to Charanjit, with broader powers, DBP can also carry out the Malay language outreach programmes using more creative and relevant approaches, in line with current information and communication technology developments.

She said that such programmes would help raise public awareness about the importance of using proper and authentic Malay language, without compromising the language’s identity.

Contemporary challenges, particularly from the influence of entertainment and mass media, could erode the correct use of the language, especially with the growing trend of language mixing, such as the use of ‘bahasa rojak’ and abbreviations.

“If DBP is given legal authority, they will be able to act more effectively in curbing this phenomenon and ensure the accurate and appropriate use of the language. The authenticity of the language is often tainted in the media, such as in brochures, posters, advertisements, dramas, songs, TV sitcoms, and radio shows,” she added.

Meanwhile, chairman of the organising committee of the third ‘Simposium Antarabangsa Aspirasi Bahasa Melayu’ Dr Kamarazaman Yacob, said Malaysia could lose its identity if issues related to the misuse of the Malay language cannot be controlled by DBP.

“If you look at all the new towns or cities, many no longer use names in Malay language. When foreign tourists visit, they may assume that is Malay language.

“For example, Kampung Baru has suddenly become 'New Village', or areas like Bangsar South and Mont Kiara. If all the names with a western tone are approved, and they (foreign tourists) come and see this, they’ll think there’s no difference from being in England. Therefore, amendments need to be expedited so DBP can take action,” he said.

He added that there are many signboards where foreign language text is written larger than the Malay language, which is an offence, but DBP cannot act due to the lack of authority.

He said that offences involving street signs, road names, and housing project names must be included in the legal provisions under the DBP Act, in an effort to elevate the Malay language as the country's official language.

-- BERNAMA