Nanta says Works Ministry accept letters in all languages, urges DAP man not to sensationalise issue

KUCHING (Jan 21): Works Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi has pledged that his ministry accepts letters in all languages to address issues faced by the people.

In a statement today, he said he was aware of a recent case brought up by Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen’s special assistant Michael Kong whose letter in English requesting the ministry to carry out repair works at Jalan Batu Kawa had been rejected by the ministry’s officer.

“I understand the dissatisfaction of Michael Kong Feng Nian, special assistant to Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen, who sent a letter regarding the road repair in Jalan Batu Kawa, Kuching, but was asked to send another letter in Bahasa Malaysia.

“This happened without my knowledge or permission, and a reprimand has already been given to the officer who did it.

“However, after a review, I would like to clarify that the letter was not returned as claimed, and is in the ministry’s record for action. Yet it is true that the officer has recommended to use Bahasa Malaysia,” he said in response to the matter.

Nanta further clarified that he had personally never rejected any letter sent to him in a language other than Bahasa Malaysia.

He went on to say that he had received letters in Iban and Chinese, and had replied to all those letters and taken action accordingly.

“Only so far, I have never received a letter in Tamil. But if there is, I will ask an officer to translate it for me. So, there is actually no issue regarding language in affairs involving the interests of the people like this,” he said.

He thus assured all parties that all information, reports, complaints and applications submitted to him and his ministry especially involving the public interest and the well-being of the people, will be given serious attention and appropriate action will be taken.

As such, he requested Kong not to sensationalise the issue.

He hoped that such language issue should not continue to be debated and become an obstacle to any party.

“We need to respect the decisions made by the Federal Government and Sarawak State Government. The actions of officers at my ministry are purely of a federal administrative nature, in accordance with the instructions issued by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously,” explained the minister.

On Oct 25 last year, Anwar ordered that all official letters to the government be sent in Bahasa Malaysia, and if they were sent in another language, must be returned.

However, at the state-level, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg had clarified that the Prime Minister’s directive was only subject to administration at the federal level.

Abang Johari said the state’s civil service will continue to use English as the official language along with the national language.

This is in line with Article 161 of the Federal Constitution regarding the interest of Sabah and Sarawak, which states that Sarawak has the freedom to continue to use English together with Bahasa Malaysia as the official medium of communication.

“We don’t want this directive, which has a good purpose, to end up causing dissatisfaction of any party and further disrupt the harmony that has been built for a long time,” pointed out Nanta.

He said he has so much on his plate that he would rather focus on more important tasks to solve problems on the ground.

“There are many big tasks ahead, and I want to use my time to focus on more important things, among which is to address and solve people’s problems.

“Let us set aside our differences and serve the people and the country together,” he added.

In a recent statement, Kong said he discussed with Nanta last year about the urgent need for road repairs at Jalan Batu Kawa (outside Paragon Concrete).

Following this discussion, he said he had sent a formal letter in English to address the matter but an official from the Works Ministry had contacted him, requesting him to submit another letter in Bahasa Malaysia.