The government is ruining the efforts of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka to elevate the status of the Malay language as the national language by pressuring the domestic whiskey manufacturer to change its brand name TIMAH. Such an attempt to pressure a private company will convey a negative impression of the use of Malay language as the business language among other companies.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi recently held a joint meeting with the whiskey manufacturer, which was attended by Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Senator Idris Ahmad, National Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Hasnol Zam Zam Ahmad, Energy and Natural Resources Ministry’s deputy secretary-general Abdul Wahid Abu Salim, Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) director-general Abdul Haris Lakar, as well as representatives from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), the Home Ministry and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
The government is clearly overblowing the issue and attempting to harass and beat the private company into submission.
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka has always been committed to promoting the use of the Malay language in different sectors, particularly in the business sector, in order to elevate the status and value of the language.
If the brand name Timah has to be changed due to pressure from some extremists, how is the government going to promote the extensive use of the Malay language in the business sector in the future?
Predictably, many businessmen and entrepreneurs will avoid the use of the Malay language as much as possible, particularly in terms of naming and designing their brands, in the hope of reducing the risks of becoming embroiled in unwanted trouble.
The extremists’ call to change Timah’s brand name and the government’s idiotic response to the matter are akin to shooting themselves in the foot. Given that more industry players will try to avoid the use of the Malay language in the future, the status and practical value of the language in the business sector will decline.
In the long term, such a situation will lead to the continuous downfall of the economic value of the Malay language and undercut the various efforts to promote and improve the status of the Malay language.