Why no fuss over signboards when PN was in power, DAP Youth asks

DAP Youth has hit out at Perikatan Nasional for playing up the issue of signage in other languages only now that they are in the opposition.

Defending the need for multilingual signboards, DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong said in a statement that Malaysia is a multiracial country that welcomes people from all walks of life.

He said such signboards can demonstrate the country’s uniqueness and attractiveness.

“Multilingual signages are nothing new in Malaysia and were present when PN was in power from 2020 to 2022. Why are they fussing over the issue now that they are in the opposition?

“It shows that PN is a hypocritical political coalition and disguises itself as national language champions when they run out of ideas,” Woo (above) said, weighing in on the recent Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) crackdown on signboards that did not display the Malay language.

Woo stressed that multilingual signboards would not threaten the nation’s language or culture, adding that this was a norm now and that other countries did not create a fuss out of it.

The DAP Youth chief further took aim at DBKL for being overzealous in its enforcement, warning that continuously doing so will only jeopardise the government’s image and give cheap political fodder to PN.

DBKL crackdown

The Star reported that on Nov 21, DBKL targeted signboards using languages such as Bangladeshi, Korean, Arabic, and Chinese that failed to comply with the rules.

This year, in collaboration with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, DBKL has conducted enforcement operations at six shopping centres, issuing 31 notices to violators.

“Businesses with valid licences but no signboard permits were compounded, and non-compliant signboards were removed.

“Premises with both licences and permits but failing to prioritise Malay with larger fonts also faced action,” the statement read.

The crackdown drew criticism from Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing, who raised concerns over foreign tourists perceiving Malaysia as a “racist or religiously extreme” country.

Tiong’s remarks and an apology to China tourists the day prior over “unpleasant experiences” in the country have led to both issues becoming intertwined in the eyes of critics such as Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.

Wan Fayhsal questioned Tiong’s reasoning in apologising to Chinese tourists, saying there was never an issue of Malaysia begging for English signboards in China as “we understand their policies and laws”.

No reason to apologise

Umno Veterans Club secretary Mustapha Yaakub held a similar viewpoint, saying Tiong had no reason to apologise to Chinese tourists.

Mustapha claimed Tiong’s assertion that tourists had asked him if Malaysia was a racist country was a lie and that he was being theatrical about it.

“Where in this world does anyone accord special treatment to tourists that visit their country to the point of changing signboards to the native language of the tourists?

“He is intentionally raising this issue because he is anti-Bahasa Malaysia. He is also anti-Malaysia, his own country. He is not patriotic and not a nationalist. He is more Chinese than the mainland Chinese,” he said.


Mustapha urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to give the tourism portfolio to someone more capable of protecting Malaysia’s good name.

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