SHAH ALAM: The Shah Alam City Council, responding to a royal decree, has begun dismantling road signs in the city with both Malay and Chinese languages written on it.
The dismantling of all such signs is being done in stages and is expected to be completed soon, said the council’s corporate and public relations division head Shahrin Ahmad.
The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, in a decree on Monday, wanted all these road signs to be changed before his 73rd birthday on Dec 11.
The decree was made known through his private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Banir.
“We will uphold the decree and replace the road signs, which included Chinese characters, with those in the Malay language only,” said Shahrin.
A Shah Alam resident had uploaded a post on Twitter, questioning the use of road signs which also featured Chinese characters, as the majority of residents in the city are Malays.
The individual had also asked what had happened to the Jawi script that was used on the road signs before.
The council, in its reply to the Twitter user, explained that the meeting of the Selangor local government committee on Jan 13 last year had decided on the use of road signs with two languages, besides the romanised script.
It added that the Jawi script will be used in road signs in traditional villages, and the Chinese characters for road signs in new villages.
In Putrajaya, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said all quarters should abide by the decree of the Sultan of Selangor.
The Federal Territories Minister said the matter in Shah Alam came under the jurisdiction of the Selangor government. — Bernama
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
