KUCHING: It’s not right to enforce the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the civil service with punitive measures, says a Sarawak minister.

       State Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said civil servants should not be penalised for speaking English as it was used worldwide for business and communication.

       He also noted that English was the second official language in Sarawak after Bahasa Malaysia.

       “It is widely used by civil servants and in the state legislative assembly,” he said yesterday.

       Karim was responding to a call by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Zuki Ali for the Public Service Department (JPA) to consider punitive measures to enforce the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the civil service.

       Others have also criticised the proposal, including former international trade and industry minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and the G25 group of eminent Malays.

       Karim added that civil servants should be encouraged to speak good English.

       “Being proficient in English does not make one less Malaysian or less Malay,” he said.

       Zuki was reported as saying on May 24 that he hoped the JPA could consider action against those who did not take the instructions relating to the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the civil service seriously.

       He said the punitive action was not intended to intimidate, but ensure that Bahasa Malaysia was not used in an arbitrary manner.