Representatives from various government departments, led by the director-general of Istana Budaya, Datuk Mohamed Juhari Shaarani (centre) pledge to fight for the national language. — Malay Mail pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz has urged Malaysians to fight against the deterioration of Bahasa Malaysia.

“Our culture and national identity will die if we do not respect our national language,” he said at the launch of National Language Month 2017 at the Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara) yesterday.

The National Language Month is a nationwide programme held throughout November to reignite the love for Bahasa Malaysia among Malaysians.

Also at the event were tourism and culture deputy secretary-general Datuk Rashidi Hasbullah and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) linguistic expert Prof Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong.

Quoting a Unesco report on language endangerment, Nazri said English is a threat to ethnic culture and languages.

“We have to protect the national language and stop the widespread advancement of English in Malaysia,” he said

According to Nazri, English although important is not a language that guarantees progress.

“The eight global economic giants are proof of this. Only three countries — the United States, United Kingdom and Canada are English speaking countries while the rest are not,” he said.

English has overtaken Bahasa Malaysia and many parties in the private sector such as developers and advertisers are to be blamed.

“Why is it called Bangsar South and not Bangsar Selatan? The original name for Mont Kiara is Bukit Kiara, why change it?” he said.

According to Nazri, the mentality that businesses and products with English names will be more appealing to consumers should go.

Nazri also said that the overuse of SMS and Internet slang has led to the deterioration of the national language.

“Macam mana is now camne while Assalamualaikum is now A’kum,” he said, adding that this should be discouraged.

While vernacular schools are important to preserve and encourage the usage of the mother tongue, Nazri said that they should not abandon the use of Bahasa Malaysia.

“The problem doesn’t lie with the education system but with the lack of encouragement in the use of the national language in vernacular schools”, Nazri said.

He said we should not forget that the Malay language was once the most prominent language in the region.

To restore it to its former glory, Nazri said the tourism sector can promote the use of Bahasa Malaysia through its activities.

“We can attract tourists to our country and language through theatre and stage plays in Bahasa Malaysia,” he said.

Through brand and identity building, Nazri is convinced that the Tourism and Culture ministry will be able to spur the growth of Bahasa Malaysia.

Speaking on Budget 2018, Nazri said although he is grateful for the allocation but more funds will be needed for Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2020.

“The RM3 billion total we received for SME and Infrastructure will really help boost the tourism industry but I will have to speak to the Prime Minister as more is needed to promote VMY 2020,” he said.