[lg policy] Malaysia: RTM, Private Media Urged To Increase Malay Language Usage

[Christina Paulston]

When did they start calling it Bahasa Melayu?  I have always heard  
Bahasa Melanes(i)a. Christina


On Jan 5, 2010, at 9:57 AM, Harold Schiffman wrote:

> RTM, Private Media Urged To Increase Malay Language Usage
>
>
> KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) is
> urged to be the main channel for popularising the usage of Bahasa
> Melayu, while private media organisations are reminded to raise its
> usage. Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr
> Rais Yatim said the thinking that using Bahasa Melayu was less
> sophisticated should also be erased because with 250 million speakers
> of the language, Bahasa Melayu came sixth on the list of most-spoken
> languages after Mandarin, English, French, Russian and Hindi. "The
> ministry very much hopes for the usage and popularity of Bahasa Melayu
> be raised, and RTM should be the main channel to promote the policy.
>
> "The more we use Bahasa Melayu, the more popular it becomes. It should
> be the lingua franca and the language of unity, civilisation and
> administration," he told reporters after an exclusive interview by
> Radio Klasik Nasional at Wisma Radio in Angkasapuri, here, on Monday.
> Rais said the level of Bahasa Melayu usage by RTM was commmendable in
> line with the language policy, but there was still room for
> improvement, especially at the private television and radio stations.
> He, however, reminded that Bahasa Melayu should not be used
> haphazardly in trying to woo viewers or listeners. "Sometimes they do
> not pronounce the words properly when they become too dramatic. For
> example, the word 'dan' is pronounced differently by the announcers
> and not the way it should be."
>
> Rais said his ministry would continue to monitor such matters, but was
> important was for the announcers at the private stations to love
> Bahasa Melayu and be confident of its position as the best
> communication language in the Malay Archipelago. He also reminded
> government employees and others as well not to use foreign words if
> there were Bahasa Melayu words for the terms to be spoken. Asked
> whether there should be enforcement of the law to ensure proper Bahasa
> Melayu usage, he said: "There should be no law enforcement when it
> comes to language. It must come from within (ourselves)."
>
> On the erroneous use of the language in advertisements, Rais said the
> ministry could apply the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Act, but they needed
> only to correct the wrong terms used and not fined. On blogs, Rais was
> confident that their usage as a medium to bring down others would
> eventually wane or be rejected by the public. However, he said, his
> ministry would continue to monitor blogs which carried negative or
> false news to curb the dissemination of such news while blogsites were
> also bound by the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. "Under
> Sections 232 and 233 of the Act, the ministry can act againt anyone
> who abuses the usage of this new media, but only after the warnings
> had been issued and ignored," he said.
>
> -- BERNAMA
>
> http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=465968
>
> -- 
> **************************************
> N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
> its members
> and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
> or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents.
> Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal.
> (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
>
> For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to
> https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/
> listinfo/lgpolicy-list
> *******************************************
> _______________________________________________
> This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
> lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list

_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list