JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has warned an Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) member over an official letter which was written in Chinese.
The Sultan made it clear that any official letters involving the state government or local authorities in Johor must be written in the national language.
“If the councillor does not know how to do his or her job, just resign. This is my warning…do not make this mistake again.
“All official letters involving the state government or local councils that use the official letter head must be written in Malay.
“We have never written any official letters in two languages,” the Sultan told the Royal Press Office (RPO) at Istana Pasir Pelangi, here today.
He was responding to the letter, which had sparked negative responses from netizens, because it was written in Chinese and English.
In the letter, the MBIP councillor had called on local residents to attend a dialogue session on a plan to demolish a road block.
The Sultan said all parties must respect the use of Bahasa Melayu in any official communication pertaining to matters involving the state government or local authorities.
In an immediate reaction, MBIP Mayor, Adib Azhari Daud said all MBIP Councillors will no longer be allowed to issue letters on their own accord.
Instead, all official communication must go through prior vetting and approved by the Mayor or MBIP Secretary before being released to the public.
“This policy will be tabled at the next MBIP full council meeting,” he said.
Meanwhile, a news portal reported that the councillor for Zon 8 Taman Bukit Indah, Chan Wei Kjhan, issued the letter inviting residents to attend a dialogue with Perling assemblyperson Cheo Yee How and MBIP representatives to discuss a road divider.
The letter was signed by Chan.
Cheo has since apologised for any offence caused.
"The letter was actually written in the national language, with the Chinese and English versions only included as attachments," he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
The issue of the letter was first raised by former Johor menteri besar Tan Sri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Cheo had since accused Khaled of misleading the public by only highlighting the Chinese and English attachments.