KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) has proposed amendments to the DBP Act 1959 to enable the enforcement of Bahasa Melayu as the national language.
DBP board of governors chairman Datuk Seri Prof Dr Awang Sariyan said the first amendment involved the enforcement of the use of Malay language in sectors stipulated by the Federal Constitution, especially Article 152 (6) which provides for the use of Bahasa Melayu in the administration of the federal government, state government and public authorities.
“Secondly, the provision that enables DBP to develop the Malay language and literature at the international level based on laws even though since the 1980s, DBP has implemented the expansion of the Malay language and literature at the world level,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said the amendment involving the internationalisation aspect of the language was closely related to the Cabinet’s approval in the setting up the International Malay Language Council (MABM) in 1997, of which DBP was the secretariat.
The third amendment, he said was on the provision that would enable DBP to set up a corporation to mobilise its business functions more effectively, thus contributing to the country’s financial aspect.
“As a statutory body, DBP only receives emoluments from the government and needs to generate income to implement programmes on language planning, literature and publication,” he added.
Awang said DBP was confident that the government’s commitment to elevating Malay language and literature at the national and international levels became a fundamental principle in the implementation of the national language policy, making it one of the country’s main policies, besides enhancing Malaysia’s image in the eyes of the world.
Awang expressed DBP’s appreciation over the announcement made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob that the government would amend the DBP Act to allow it to take action against any violation of the Bahasa Melayu usage including at the district level.
— Bernama
