COMMENT | More than two decades ago, at a press conference announcing the Malaysian leg of an international golf tournament, a meek voice broke the room’s polite hum.

“Why is the tournament scheduled during the fasting month? Don’t you realise this robs Muslim caddies of their livelihood?” asked a reporter from Utusan Malaysia, theatrically backed by a Bernama colleague.

The room froze. Heads dropped. Foreign guests looked on. Did our journalists not understand that global sporting calendars - F1, ATP tennis, golf - are locked in years ahead, with each host country slotted into a fixed rotation?

Volvo Masters director Mel Pyatt didn’t take the bait. He sidestepped the question, sparing the reporters further embarrassment.

Fast forward to last Thursday, déjà vu struck at Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s press conference for the “I Lite U” project, part of Visit Malaysia Year 2026.

Once again, an Utusan reporter was in the limelight, asking: Why is the theme in English?

The question was not unreasonable, though. It was a...