Tiong hits out at Dr M for
criticising Chinese
signboards
The tourism, arts and culture minister says such criticism could affect the country’s diversity and tourism industry.
He said such criticism could affect the country’s diversity and tourism industry.
Earlier this week, Mahathir claimed that Malaysia was unlike other Southeast Asian nations as it allowed shops to display Chinese characters prominently, acknowledging that this could be due to the numerous tourists from China.
Tiong said Mahathir’s statement did little to foster unity nor contribute to the economy’s development. He added that it also negatively impacts the country’s multicultural social fabric.
“As a (senior) statesman, Mahathir should support and work with the new generation to ensure stable national development instead of clinging to outdated views,” Tiong said on Facebook.
“But in recent years, all we’ve heard from Mahathir are statements (that) are not constructive and do not contribute to economic growth or social harmony.
“Raising such issues threatens the very foundation of our cultural diversity.”
On Nov 18, Mahathir questioned why shops were allowed to install signboards which did not use the Malay language after visiting one of the newer shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur.
He maintained that using Chinese characters on signboards was fine, but said this should be limited to translations in smaller characters.
“Is this Malaysia or have we become part of China?” he said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Tiong also disagreed with Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) recent enforcement against shop owners who did not prioritise the national language on signboards.
Last month, DBKL said it had issued 20 fault notices and 10 enforcement notices to shop owners for “using languages other than the national language in an excessive manner” from January till Oct 16 this year.
In his Facebook post, Tiong said the enforcement has resulted in “emotional reactions” and crossed “unnecessary boundaries”.
He added that a negative perception of Malaysia would impact the country’s reputation among tourists, especially in view of Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
Tiong claimed that tourists have questioned Malaysia’s openness and inclusiveness as a result of DBKL’s actions.
“I suggest DBKL work closely with (Tourism Malaysia) for the Visit Malaysia Year (2026) campaign by improving the city’s basic infrastructure and creating more new and exciting tourist attractions.”
Last month, DBKL reiterated its call for shop owners to prioritise the use of the national language on their signboards, warning of consequences for non-compliance.
DBKL clarified that while registered brands do not need to be translated, other signboard texts must be presented in the national language with a larger font size.
The Advertisement (Federal Territory) By-laws 1982, which mandates that all advertisements be primarily in Malay, allows the inclusion of other languages.
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