Penang Gerakan has thrown its support behind the DAP-led state government’s decision to put up multi-lingual road signs in certain parts of the state.

State Gerakan chief Dr Teng Hock Nam said the move will help promote tourism in Penang and display the state’s wealth in cultural diversity.

penang gerakan pc 141008 teng hock nam “Since the DAP-led government is planning to put up road signs in other languages, in addition to Bahasa Malaysia, (based on) the racial composition of residents in that particular area, we strongly support the move,” he said.

The Penang government decided last month to add more languages to the existing Bahasa Malaysia signboards in the Georgetown heritage zones.

The additional language - either English, Mandarin, Tamil or Arabic - will be added without removing the original signage in Bahasa Malaysia.

The decision was made after Unesco bestowed Malacca and Georgetown with the World Heritage City status in July.

Explaining Gerakan’s support, Teng - a former state exco member - said the previous state government led by his party had made a similar proposal.

thor teong ghee chinese road plate 250708 “In June last year, when the DAP was still in the opposition, it had been forcing the Gerakan-led state government to put up road signs in Mandarin, in addition to the Bahasa Malaysia road signs,” he said.

“However, now that the DAP is the government, it appears that it has changed its stand in regard to the road signs.”

Under Gerakan administration, an allocation of RM180,000 had been obtained from the federal government to erect signboards in four languages along certain roads in Georgetown.

“A consultant had been appointed and the interpretative signs had been designed and approved by the previous state exco for implementation. Unfortunately, it could not be implemented as the Barisan Nasional lost the March general election,” he said.

‘No breach of constitution’

On the suit filed by Gabungan Graduan Melayu Muda (GGMM) yesterday against the state government, Teng said Penang Gerakan “fully understands and appreciates” the reasons for the legal action.

penang road sign dual language umno ngo files protest 041108 nik risman sapain “It was reported that (GGMM member) Nik Rizman Sapiah (right) was offended and disturbed by the proposal," said Teng.

"(However,) since he is not from Penang, he and his members may not be able to appreciate the multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-language fabric of Penang society."

Teng added that Penang Gerakan strongly believes that the multi-lingual road signs do not contravene Article 152 of the federal constitution which upholds the official status of Bahasa Malaysia.

Gerakan is the second BN component party after the MCA, to defend the decision for multi-lingual road signs.

MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong on Oct 29 issued a statement drawing a parallel between the multi-lingual road signs and those found at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Objections to the plan have been expressed by Foreign Affairs Minister Rais Yatim, Universiti Malaya’s Prof Zainal Kling and BN’s Sri Gading MP Mohamad Aziz .