Use Malay in all official letters: Johor Sultan

JOHOR BARU: Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar ( pix) has voiced his annoyance after an official letter by an Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) member written in Chinese and English went viral.

Sultan Ibrahim decreed that any official letter 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 letterhead must be written in Malay.

“We have never written any official letter in two languages,” the Sultan told the Royal Press Office at Istana Pasir Pelangi, yesterday.

Sultan Ibrahim was responding to the letter, which had sparked negative response from netizens, because it was written in Chinese and English.

He 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 the letter, the MBIP councillor had called on residents to attend a dialogue session on a plan to demolish a roadblock.

Meanwhile, Perling assemblyman Cheo Yee How said in a statement yesterday that the controversial letter was an attachment of an invitation for the dialogue session.

The letter, issued by Iskandar Puteri City councillor Chan Wei Khjan, was all written in Bahasa Malaysia.

“However, the attachment letter with similar content was in Chinese and English,” he said.