Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang said this after Sarawak DAP restored some of the Chinese characters for certain road signposts in the city.
Yesterday, Sarawak DAP said that it had tried to restore the Chinese characters for Jalan Main Bazaar, Wayang Street and Jalan Green Hill which had been removed by the Kuching North City Hall.
The post has received more than 4,000 shares and 10,000 comments by netizens.
Sarawak DAP committee member Julian Tan told FMT it was part of the state’s culture to have dual languages for certain road signs.
“We chose to restore some of the Chinese characters for the signposts for Jalan Main Bazaar, Wayang Street and Jalan Green Hill because a lot of businesses there are run by the Chinese community.
“This is especially so for Jalan Main Bazaar, which is a major tourist spot with the oldest Chinese temple in Kuching located there,” he said.
However Lo said the action had sparked off a lot of debate with racial undertones on social media which was very much “un-Sarawak”.
“DAP’s action of using such issues to win votes for political mileage was a stupid act. We don’t need such political games here in Sarawak. So DAP, a Malayan party, can do what they want in the Peninsula instead of bringing in such toxic tactics (into Sarawak),” he said.
Lo said that Sarawakians had lived together in peace for decades. He urged the people not to allow a few road signs to mar that harmony.
“We are a multi-racial state and we have a great example to show to the rest of Malaysia and even the world of our unique harmony, so why spoil it?” he said, adding that Sarawak DAP should not forget that the state comprised many other ethnic groups such as the Iban, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu as well as others.
A state government leader has also criticised the DAP Youth action. Abdul Rahman Junaidi, who is assistant minister in the Chief Minister’s Department said City Hall viewed the DAP action as unlawful as they did not get approval to put up the characters on the signs.
DBKU had yesterday lodged a police report on the matter at the Kuching central police station.
The police are currently investigating the matter for causing damage through an act of mischief. The maximum penalty on conviction is imprisonment of between one year to five years, with a fine or both.
Rahman said the DAP Youth action is also an offence under the local authority by-laws.
“City Hall regrets the DAP Youth action as its members should understand the law better,” he said. He urged DAP Youth to remove the Chinese characters from the signposts as soon as possible.
DAP Serian pro-tem chairman Brolin Nicholson had urged the state’s local government and housing ministry to change the roadsigns to English or to emulate Singapore’s use of four different languages in a single signboard.
“Even though we are proud of the bilingual road signs in Sarawak, we must not forget that some are not satisfied with it. For example, if we put up the Chinese characters for any road sign, the Dayaks will also want their languages to be put together as they are the majority in the state.
“If we talk about being a multiracial (state), we must not forget about other languages,” he said.