Malaysia to levy fines for poor speech
Malaysia will levy fines on those incorrectly using the national language, and will set up a specialized division to weed out offenders who mix Malay with English, news reports said Thursday.
Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim said fines of up to 1,000 ringgit ($271) can be imposed on displays with any wrong or mutated form of Malay, the Star newspaper reported.
The move was to ensure “the national language was not sidelined in any way,” Rais said, according to The Star.
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“It has to be admitted that a mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and English sometimes cannot be helped, but we hope these measures can arrest the decline,” Rais said, according to The Star.
He said a national language unit will be set up in an attempt to reduce the English-Malay mix, especially at official functions.
Beyond how amusing it is whenever governments try to regulate natural processes…isn’t it a little late for all this? Dawn, care to weigh in?