IN A post that mirrors Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent grouse about signage in languages other than Malay, a hotel sign in Mandarin and Korean seems to have gotten certain netizen’s knickers in a knot.
Sharing a post by a guest at Kota Kinabalu’s Promenade Hotel & Resorts, a certain Zaina_Raiming claimed that the hotel signage was purely in Mandarin and Korean, thus making her trip to the swimming a pool an adventure in itself.
Any difficulty could have been avoided if there were directions in English or Bahasa Malaysia, it was claimed.
The post was shared on X by MALAYSIA MOST VIRAL (@MALAYSIAVIRALLL) who chose to stir things up by complaining about the lack of BM or English signage in his “homeland” of Sabah.
Apalah nak jadi dengan Sabah tanah air ku. Jangan kan bahasa melayu, english pun tiada. As local sedih lah. Kita nak cari swimming pool di hotel ni, mengagau lah mencari tanya pekerja dia.
Lokasi Hotel Promenade
📸Zana_Raiming pic.twitter.com/ZWplwTPS1H
— MALAYSIA MOST VIRAL (@MALAYSIAVIRALLL) January 3, 2025
The post has gone viral, amassing 1.5M views with many netizens keen to voice their disapproval at this perceived slight towards the national language.
With a few questioning the motives of the hotel’s management who were willing to “sell its language and culture” for profit.
Many were quick to blame such displays as an over-accommodation of the hotel’s target tourists.
It was also argued that one did not see the reverse happening abroad whereby foreign languages were prioritised over the national language.
Needless to say, one used this as a stick to beat the ruling Madani administration, claiming it was bending over for the Chinese. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing was also singled out for special mention since he was an East Malaysian.
Some were just blatantly racist in their comments.
One netizen urged that complaints be filed with the relevant authorities though it must be noted that Sabah and Sarawak are NOT bound by the National Language Act 1963 / 1967 whereby Bahasa Malaysia is a requirement for official communications.
Of course, this issue was ripe to be exploited by those with a nationalist perspective who reckoned that this was further evidence of the country being colonised (again).
One netizen though chided the poster for not using his smart phone’s translate app.
This line of reasoning was quickly countered by others who argued that the netizen was missing the point as the tourists should be the ones using the translate app.
In the end, clarity was provided by the hotel management themselves.
It does appear that certain keyboard warriors have been too swift in passing judgment or perhaps it was to intentionally create a mountain out of a non-existent molehill.
Some commenters hoped that those who spread malicious lies or post without proper investigation will be rewarded with a writ.
One netizen likened the spreading of such misinformation as a sin worse than murder.
One commenter though hit the nail on the head by calling out the post for what it really was. – Jan 7, 2025
