THE Jawi script is not exclusive to any one community but belongs to all Malaysians, says Johor Islamic Religious Affairs committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid (BN-Semerah).
He said the use of Jawi was enshrined under Section 9 of National Language Act 1963/67, making it a recognised part of Malaysia’s national heritage.
“It is not a racial issue, but a national recognition of our shared script,” he said at the state assembly sitting in Kota Iskandar.
He was responding to a question from Haslinda Salleh (BN-Tenang), who inquired about the state government’s efforts to promote and strengthen Jawi usage in Johor.
He went on to say that he took the initiative of getting all state assemblymen with their name tags written in the Roman alphabet and Jawi.
“I hope everyone will wear their new name tags – including Bentayan,” he said, referring to Ng Yak Howe (PH-Bentayan) seated in the opposition bloc.
“Don’t think ‘aiyah, this is only for Malays or Islam’. Jawi is recognised by law.”
He then asked Ng: “Will you wear it?”
After a non-verbal response from Ng, Mohd Fared cheerfully said, “Luckily, he said yes.”
He said discussions had taken place with bodies such as Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), Johor Heritage Foundation and Johor Cultural Council to encourage wider use of Jawi beyond just Islamic institutions.
“We have organised regular programmes like quizzes and writing competitions to promote Jawi,” he said.
“We have also proposed making the fourth week of every month ‘Jawi Week’, with activities like ‘Let’s Read Jawi’ and setting up Jawi corners in government offices,” Mohd Fared added.
