CYBERJAYA — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday (Oct 25) that government departments and offices should not entertain letters that were not written in Malay, to uphold its national language.

He said letters that were not in written in Malay, especially from local companies and universities would be returned.

Mr Anwar said that empowering the culture of the national language was an integral part of nation-building.

“Sometimes, there is confusion. Of course we stress on the use of English language for trading but some civil servants including in universities and private sectors have distorted from that path, forgotten and neglected the basics.

“When communicating with government offices, it should be done in Malay.

“If there are local companies that are writing letters in languages other than the national language, their letters would be returned,” he said in his speech, when launching the National Language Decade Carnival and National Reading Decade.

He said he was not belittling other languages but it was a reminder to empower the national language as part of nation-building.

He added that in efforts for Malaysians to upgrade, explore more technologies and reach for the skies, one should not forget their roots.

“One of the most important roots is national language.

“In Madani, the focus is on empowering the economy including new sectors such as technology and digital but all these needs to go hand-in-hand with empowering culture including the use of the national language,” Mr Anwar said.

Mr Anwar also called for higher education institutions and schools to empower the use of the national language. NEW STRAITS TIMES