The Cabinet’s move to revert to the term Bahasa Malaysia to refer to the national language should not be turned into a polemic issue, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the Government came to the decision because it was of the opinion that the national language should be a language for all races.
"We don’t want this matter to become a major polemic," he told reporters after the opening ceremony of the World Tourism Conference themed “Tourism Success Stories and Shooting Stars” here on Monday.
“We all know that the national language means the Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) but we want the language to belong to all Malaysians regardless of race, ethnic groups and so on.
"So, by referring to the language as Bahasa Malaysia means that the language belongs to all of us.”
He was asked to respond to The Star’s banner report on the Cabinet’s decision.
It was reported that all ministries, public universities and local institutions of higher learning have been directed to inform their relevant departments and agencies to begin using the term Bahasa Malaysia in letters, notices and documents with immediate effect.
It is understood that the heads of the various ministries are also sending out these directives following the Cabinet order.
Najib said the move was also aimed at promoting unity, integration, togetherness and usage of the language among Malaysians.
Tunku Abdul Rahman introduced the term Bahasa Malaysia after the country’s independence to inculcate a Malaysian identity.
However, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim became the education minister in 1986, he dropped the term Bahasa Malaysia for Bahasa Melayu.
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