KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's government announced on Friday that it was pushing forward on its efforts to boost the use of the Malay language in the country. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), the country's body tasked with implementing and overseeing the National Language Policy, “should become the trustee or custodian of the Malay knowledge and literature treasures in the country.” It comes as the government moves to boost the use of Malay in all local schools, including those predominantly in Chinese or Tamil, the two most prominent minority languages in the country. “The DBP should step up strategic alliance and synergy with research centres and universities at home and abroad. The Malay language and literature research and development should be intensified. “The setting up of the proposed Malaysian Malay Literature Centre at the DBP old building could be the initial step to launch this effort,” he said when launching the DBP Strategic Action Plan 2011-2015, here. Yassin said the position and role of Bahasa Melayu should not be restricted to the national level, but “must go regional and international, and it should be recognized as an important language of the world.” DBP should harness the existing infrastructure and mechanism pertaining to relations and cooperation with other countries, such as the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia Language Council (MABBIM), the Southeast Asia Literary Council (Mastera) and the Malay Language International Council (MABM), in the effort to raise Melay as a global language. He said the launch of the DBP five-year strategic plan could be a platform to elevate the Malay language and literature to become a core identity of the people in the march towards a developed country by 2020. The plan contained a new high-impact initiative, namely, the Language Audit program, which was not aimed at finding fault with others, instead helping the government to enhance the use and command of the national language among civil servants. The Language Audit, which is set to start next year, will initially focus on six sectors under National Language Implementation Committee chaired by him, namely the public service, public places, broadcasting and communication, finance and banking, trade, and education. He said the Language Audit in other sectors would be implemented in the second phase of the program. Yassin said the Housing and Local Government Ministry would implement the Language Audit on billboards, and create a star-rating scheme among local authorities. “The Public Service Department has taken a proactive measure by offering several of its divisions to be audited. “The Higher Education Ministry has also set a target of widening the use of Bahasa Melayu at institutions of higher learning while the Finance Ministry had ordered banks and insurance companies to use the national language. “The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Affairs Ministry has conducted seminars for businessmen and entrepreneurs. “I am confident that if such efforts are implemented consistently and comprehensively involving all government ministries and agencies and the private sector, Bahasa Melayu will not be marginalized in its homeland,” he said.
