KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry will issue stricter guidelines on the use of Bahasa Malaysia for road signs nationwide, says its Minister, Zuraida Kamaruddin.
"We will review the matter and come out with more strict guidelines.
"We have guidelines over the use of language for advertisement boards, but that is different from road signs," she told reporters at a press conference in Parliament today (Nov 22).
Zuraida cited the recent example in Selangor, where it was a state decision to use a particular language for the road sign.
She noted that Bahasa Malaysia terms used for road signs are usually specific in names or nouns, which are difficult to translate into other languages.
"We have to further expose the use of Bahasa Malaysia among the rakyat, and I am quite sure almost every Malaysian understands Malay," she added.
She was asked to comment on the issue where a road sign in Pekan Subang (New Village), Selangor, was in Chinese characters.
It was reported on Monday (Nov 19) that a photo of the road sign had gone viral on social media, sparking heated comments and debates amongst Malaysians.
The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, in a decree on Monday, ordered that all road signs are to be changed before his 73rd birthday on Dec 11
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