KUALA TERENGGANU: The act of rejecting the national language in itself is a violation of the Federal Constitution, said Federation of Malay Students Union (GPMS) Alumni president Syed Anuar Syed Mohamad.
He said he was disappointed to learn that the Attorney-General, Tommy Thomas had requested to use English language for the court proceedings against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the Kuala Lumpur High Court recently.
Syed Anuar said the request, coming from an attorney-general, was deemed as an act of denying Bahasa Melayu as the official language in Malaysia.
“The Federal Constitution states that Bahasa Melayu is the official language. Thus, all national dealings, where official or not, must use Bahasa Melayu as the language medium.
“So it is strange for the attorney-general (himself) requested not to use the national language. Other countries like Japan and America use their respective official language.
“His act is clearly violates Bahasa Melayu as the official language,” he said when met yesterday.
Syed Anuar hoped the court judges would have the proceedings done in Bahasa Melayu.
“If (Tommy is) allowed (to use English language in court), it will create a precedent not only in the judicial system, but also other affairs and would eventually cause adverse effects on the country.
“If we can’t respect our own national language, what could we expect from citizens of other countries?” he said.
He said the use of English language should be allowed only for court witnesses and the accused who made such requests, or the court could provide a language translator for them.
“In this regard, it is the attorney-general (who made the request); he had indirectly dishonoured the national language,” he said.
Asked if the use of Bahasa Melayu should also be extended to courts in Sabah and Sarawak, he said: “There should not be any exemption. Upholding the Federal Constitution means upholding its supremacy, which is one of the National Principles of Malaysia.
“This means, there is no state or institution that can or can’t (use Bahasa Melayu),” he added.
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