KUALA LUMPUR — Clashes over the use of Chinese on Kuala Lumpur shop signage are the latest racial flashpoint in Malaysia, with a Cabinet minister warning of economic harm if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government continues to ban prominent Chinese characters on retail signboards.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing lashed out on Nov 24 at a decision by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to enforce a 1982 by-law dictating that any advertisement must have Malay displayed with larger characters than other languages.

"This overboard behaviour not only causes tourists to question the openness and inclusivity of Malaysia, but some international visitors have asked me point-blank whether Malaysia is racist or religiously extreme," he said, lamenting in a statement that such issues of race and religion can stunt economic growth.

Tourism is projected to bring in revenue of over RM100 billion (S$30.2 billion) in 2024 and rising by nearly 50 per cent in 2026, which has been earmarked as Visit Malaysia Year.

Datuk Seri Tiong also pointed out that Malaysia is chairing Asean in 2025, giving it a "golden opportunity to display its diversity and inclusivity on the global stage".

But he cautioned that continuous race and religious controversies will erode international confidence and co-operation.

This comes at a time when Malaysia has been burnishing its credentials as a safe haven for investments amid growing fears of global trade tensions, especially after former US president Donald Trump won a second term, which will begin in 2025.

Malaysia attracted RM160 billion in approved foreign investment in the first half of 2024, up 18 per cent compared with the same period in 2023.

Other ruling politicians like Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun have criticised the move by DBKL — which is under the purview of the Federal Territories Minister Zaliha Mustafa, who hails from PM Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat — noting that the signboards are already bilingual, or multilingual. 

But deprioritising the Malay language has raised the hackles of nationalists, who see such efforts as part of an anti-Malay Muslim agenda.

Malaysia has had several incidents that raised racial tensions such as 2023's sale of socks bearing the word "Allah" by a convenience store chain and several incidents of China flags being waved in public, purportedly in conjunction with 2024 marking the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties.

The largely Malay-based opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition has poured scorn on Tiong's assertions, pointing out that businesses in neighbouring Indonesia and Thailand do not need to employ Chinese signboards.

PN's Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin told Parliament on Nov 25 that the minister should be dropped from Cabinet for disparaging the national language and "inciting 3R sentiment", given how several state rulers have previously decreed for road signs to drop Chinese characters and for shop signboards to bear Jawi, an Arabic-based script.

The term 3R refers to "race, religion and royalty", three sensitive areas the Anwar administration has vowed to police with a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of incitement.

Datuk Ermieyati also challenged Tiong to prove that the Tourism Ministry's projection of over 27 million visitor arrivals in total for 2024 is on track. She also questioned why the ministry's target of five million China tourists for the full year remains a long way off from being met, despite claims that two-thirds of tourism promotion spend is targeted at the Asian superpower.

As of October, Tourism Malaysia statistics showed Chinese visitor arrivals at 2.8 million.

Even a supporter of the Anwar government, Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh, lambasted Tiong on Nov 24, saying on Facebook: "The ones who are being racist are those who have lived in Malaysia for so long but still pretend not to understand the laws and sensitivities of the people in this country, minister."

The current war of words appears to have been triggered after former premier Mahathir Mohamad remarked on Nov 18 that he visited one of Kuala Lumpur's new shopping malls and "suddenly, I felt I was in China".

"All the signboards are in Chinese with English translations. Nothing in Malay. Not at all. So is this Malaysia. Or have we become a part of China," he said.

DBKL, for its part, has denied that a Nov 21 inspection across the capital was related to Tun Dr Mahathir's remarks, saying nor did it specifically target Chinese signboards.

However, KL City Hall had posted on Facebook on Oct 12 that earlier investigations found five premises on popular Jalan Imbi had marginalised Malay in their signage, with accompanying photos showing that all five used Chinese characters prominently. 

"Still don't understand language? DBKL is forced to take action! Yes, it appears these shops prefer to display other languages" it said, adding that these premises had 14 days to comply with the advertising by-law.

The Malaysia Chinese Restaurant Association complained on Nov 24 in a statement that "cost pressure brought by the signage enforcement actions cannot be ignored. From the design and production to the installation of new signage, every step imposes financial burdens on businesses, particularly amid rising ingredient and labour costs".

Its president Gao Haoyun called on DBKL to consider how "85 per cent of Chinese food and beverage businesses operate through Malaysia-China partnerships, integrating into the local business ecosystem while showcasing multiculturalism" and providing 100,000 jobs.

A check by The Straits Times on Nov 26 found that a number of premises on Jalan Imbi located in the city's Bukit Bintang shopping district had added larger Malay fonts to their signboards. Among those that have not made changes, several have prominent Chinese characters as part of their business logos.

The 1982 city by-law has some grey areas, such as excluding the names of companies from needing to be translated into the national language.

Several comments online have also questioned DBKL's motivations, as it had not acted up to now, despite these shops being located in popular areas frequented by locals and tourists.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.