Negaraku can only be sung in BM

No compromise on any breach of the constitution regarding national anthem

LANGKAWI: The national anthem, Negaraku, can only be sung in the national language, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We cannot sing Negaraku in other languages. What is written in the book is to show the meaning so that non-Malays understand the wordings but it is not for singing in languages other than our national language,’’ he said after attending a gathering of Pakatan Harapan leaders here.

Mahathir said this when asked to comment on a one minute 23 seconds video showing pupils singing the Negaraku in Mandarin which was allegedly recorded on Sept 26, 2018 at a school in Seremban, Negri Sembilan.

Negri Sembilan education, entrepreneurship, investments and industrialisation committee chairman Mohamad Rafie Ab Malek said the pupils involved were in standard five.

“Our investigation found that the teacher had translated Negaraku to help them understand the national anthem better.”

However, he said, the national anthem could only be sung in Bahasa Malaysia.

The Education Ministry said on Friday that it will not compromise on any breach of the constitution, when it comes to the national anthem.

However, a local English daily has reported that the standard five history textbook for vernacular schools have been carrying the translated lyrics of Negaraku since at least 2014.

A copy of the Education Ministryapproved textbook for vernacular schools obtained by the daily showed that Negaraku was translated into Chinese and Tamil for vernacular schools.

Both the Chinese and Tamil textbooks were published by Dewan Pustaka dan Bahasa.

On another matter, Mahathir said he will seek more information on the allegations of the existence of a deep state among civil servants which is trying to sabotage the administration of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

He also expressed his confidence that the PH government is capable of handing it if it is indeed taking place.

“I don’t know if it is taking place but if a hidden state exists, I think we can contain it, no problem. Prior to this, there were a lot of problems when I was prime minister, but we could continue to administer. I will deal with it, I will view and study it first,’’ he told reporters after attending a gathering at the Adya Hotel in Kuah yesterday.

When asked whether the transfer of the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Mohd Sallehhuddin Hassan was due to the deep state, Mahathir said he was not sure and would seek information on the matter. – Bernama