www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=20716&in_page_id=2
"Don't speak good? Have a fine.
Friday, October 6, 2006
Culture Minister Rais Yatim: he don't like no bad wording.
People what don't speak proper might do well to avoid Malaysia in the future as the Malaysian government is planning to introduce fines of around 150 for improper language use.
The plan was announced by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim, in an attempt to preserve Malay, the national language. The government will even empower a special division of government, the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, to act as language police - hunting down people who fail to use proper Bahasa Malaysia (as Malay is also known).
The government is angry at the increasing proliferation of mixed English and Malay words and phrases known as 'Maglish' which are commonly used in advertisements and in everyday speech.
They plan to enforce the replacement of frequently used English and Manglish words with their Malay equivalent. They can impose a fine of 1,000 ringgit about 144 if people fail to use the right kind of words, for example on adverts and in place names.
Dr Firdaus Abdullah, the director of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, said: 'We seek the cooperation of the public to assist us by drawing our attention to language offences committed.'
While Malay is the only official language of Malaysia, the country has many other commonly used languages amongst its different populations. Many middle class Malaysians of Indian descent speak English as a first language, and there are also numerous Chinese dialects, as well as Tamil, Telugu, Thai , Malayalam, and Panjabi.
Firdaus also said that the language police would provide a help service for people wondering if their words were good words or bad words. 'I guarantee that any confusion referred to us will be answered within 72 hours. The service is offered to everybody including advertisers before they put up billboards,' he told the Bernama news agency."
"Don't speak good? Have a fine.
Friday, October 6, 2006
Culture Minister Rais Yatim: he don't like no bad wording.
People what don't speak proper might do well to avoid Malaysia in the future as the Malaysian government is planning to introduce fines of around 150 for improper language use.
The plan was announced by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim, in an attempt to preserve Malay, the national language. The government will even empower a special division of government, the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, to act as language police - hunting down people who fail to use proper Bahasa Malaysia (as Malay is also known).
The government is angry at the increasing proliferation of mixed English and Malay words and phrases known as 'Maglish' which are commonly used in advertisements and in everyday speech.
They plan to enforce the replacement of frequently used English and Manglish words with their Malay equivalent. They can impose a fine of 1,000 ringgit about 144 if people fail to use the right kind of words, for example on adverts and in place names.
Dr Firdaus Abdullah, the director of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, said: 'We seek the cooperation of the public to assist us by drawing our attention to language offences committed.'
While Malay is the only official language of Malaysia, the country has many other commonly used languages amongst its different populations. Many middle class Malaysians of Indian descent speak English as a first language, and there are also numerous Chinese dialects, as well as Tamil, Telugu, Thai , Malayalam, and Panjabi.
Firdaus also said that the language police would provide a help service for people wondering if their words were good words or bad words. 'I guarantee that any confusion referred to us will be answered within 72 hours. The service is offered to everybody including advertisers before they put up billboards,' he told the Bernama news agency."
"Grattez votre twanger magique, froggy !!"
