(Kuching, 26th) As long as Sarawak businesses comply with commercial signboard regulations, placing bilingual languages on signboards is not a problem.
Datuk Seri Abdul Karim, Minister of Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, stated that whether it is Malay and English, or other languages such as Chinese and Tamil, it is not an issue.
He said that in Sarawak, Malay and English can be used as official languages, so as long as businesses comply with the commercial signboard regulations, there is no problem placing bilingual languages.
“Each local council has its own commercial signboard regulations, and citizens should comply.”
Abdul Karim responded when asked about his views on the action taken by Kuala Lumpur City Hall in cracking down on signboards during a press conference for the 2024 Sarawak Youth Day today.
He believes this should not be an issue and is confident it will not affect tourists' desire to visit Malaysia, so there is no need to be overly sensitive.
Abdul Karim exemplified that like tourists traveling to other countries, such as Turkey, local unfamiliar Turkish language signboards are also present, but do they affect tourists' travel mood?
He also mentioned that with today's advanced technology, people only need to take out their phones and use scanning and translation apps to understand the relevant content.
Moreover, he emphasized that the key factors attracting tourists to Malaysia are the safety level, the friendliness of the people, and having sufficient tourism and surrounding products.
He also mentioned Sarawak's tourism development, saying that in 2022, the number of tourists reached 2 million, growing by 1 million each year. By 2024, it will surpass 4 million, so he hopes the number of tourists visiting Sarawak next year can exceed 5 million.
Of course, he admitted that this poses some challenges, so the ministry will double efforts to promote various activities and tourism strategies.