President of the Opposition Malaysian Islamic Party, Abdul Hadi Awang has stepped into the debate over whether Malaysian Public Servants should use the national language of Bahasa Malaysia or English in their day-to-day work.
Tan Sri Abdul Hadi (pictured) said those who supported English were “trapped in a colonial mindset”.
“Ignore the incoherent voices that are delirious, because these are either people who are still sleeping in the shadow of the colonial era, or those who are crazy in wanting to force the abandonment of Bahasa Malaysia,” Tan Sri Abdul Hadi said.
“Advertisements in shops and the market, as well as the names of cities and roads, are named in English even though a majority of its target audience do not know English.”
This follows criticism by the G25 group of eminent Malays about punitive measures to enforce Bahasa Malaysia in the Public Service and other Government-related Agencies.
“While G25 supports the importance of Bahasa Malaysia in creating a united nation between the various races that form the country, there must also be recognition of the importance of English as the universal language of the international community in many aspects of daily life,” the group said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Public Service Department (JPA) said negligence among Public Servants who finalise the accounts of those about to go on retirement was causing hardship to pensioners and financial losses to the Government.
Director-General of the JPA, Mohd Shafiq Abdullah said the Department was taking such negligence seriously as it could result in losses of public funds.
“We notice that the number of requests from Government Departments and Agencies to deduct the pensions of retirees for outstanding debts is increasing,” Datuk Sri Mohd said.
“This should have been resolved before they left the Public Service,” he said.
“All Heads of Department must ensure that details of the employees’ financial liabilities must be finalised when the pension documents are sent to JPA for vetting and finalising so that the necessary deductions can be made.”
Datuk Sri Mohd said this would avoid hardships caused to the pensioners who would have to endure deductions from their monthly payments later.
Kuala Lumpur, 12 July 2022
