KUCHING: What the Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (DAPSY) did to the road signs in the city centre here is tantamount to vandalism, said Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said as such Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) and the relevant authority must be firm on the matter.
“We cannot have two sets of laws whereby when ordinary persons desecrate a public property, they would be charged in court, but if DAP leaders did it, they go scot-free,” he said in a statement today.
Karim was commenting on the action of Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (DAPSY) whose members pasted Chinese characters on road signs at Jalan Main Bazaar, Wayang Street and Jalan Green Hill last Thursday.
“The police and DBKU must haul up these rascals and charge them in court. The issue here is not about language and signage. The issue is about public property being openly vandalised and the authority cannot just sit still,” he stressed.
He stressed that Malaysia was a multi-racial and a multi-religious country with Bahasa Malaysia as the official language. In Sarawak English is the second official language.
“If DAP feels that Mandarin should be the third official language, they should raise it up in Parliament or in the state assembly. They should not vandalise public properties just to put their ideas across,” he said.
