29.8.68
The Editor,
Utusan Malaysia.
Dear Sir,
I refer to your report of today’s date, p.7, under the heading: “DAP bidas Gerakan utamakan bahasa dan Kebudayaan Melayu”, paragraph 5:
“Beliau mengecham dasar Perikatan yang menjadikan hanya Bahasa Melayu sa-bagai Bahasa Kebangsaan.”
I shall be grateful if you publish the following correction, as this is incorrect:
The DAP does not criticise the Alliance for making Malay as the National Language, because this is exactly the DAP stand as well.
The DAP accepts without qualification Malay as the National Language.
Where we disagree is on the question of sole Official Language.
We in the DAP are of view that as ours is a multi-racial society, it must mean that ours is a multi-lingual society. Hence our insistence that other languages, like Chinese, Tamil and English, which are being used by large numbers of Malaysians, should be given official status as well.
We believe that this is the best way to remove the question of language from the political field, so that all Malaysians can get down to the task of nation-building and economic reconstruction.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
(Lim Kit Siang)
Organising Secretary, DAP.
Audited on 2021-04-21.