The administrator of his X account shared pictures of signboards which Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself took when at Pavilion Bukit Jalil.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned the authorities for allowing shops to put up signboards in Chinese with English translations, with nothing in the Malay language.
Mahathir said he noticed several of such shops after visiting a newer shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur over the past weekend, saying “suddenly I felt I was in China”.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has drawn flak from netizens over his criticism of signboards with large Chinese characters and English translations, but nothing in Malay.
A day after questioning if Malaysia had “become part of China”, the administrator of Mahathir’s X account shared pictures of such signboards of several shops at the Pavilion Bukit Jalil shopping mall.
The administrator said these photos were taken by Mahathir himself when visiting the mall.
However, netizens were quick to disparage the political veteran, questioning why the signboards should be in Malay when these shops sold non-halal food and their target market was Chinese customers.
“If they write ‘roti babi’ (pork buns in Malay) then it would become another issue,” said @wafty_ali.
Similarly, @amino71165 said translating non-halal food products to Malay could “confuse” Muslims.
Others accused Mahathir of practising double standards, pointing out that the now-closed The Loaf bakery that he had owned had an English name and did not have a Malay translation.
One user, @matunique67, also asked cynically whether The Loaf had a Jawi translation on its signboard.
Yesterday, Mahathir said the use of Chinese characters on signboards was fine, but should be limited to translations in smaller characters.
He said his recent visit to Pavilion Bukit Jalil made him feel like he was suddenly in China. While he acknowledged that this could be due to the number of tourists from China, he maintained that “our national language is Malay”.
Last month, Kuala Lumpur City Hall said it had issued 20 fault notices and 10 enforcement notices to shop owners for “using languages other than the national language in an excessive manner” from January till Oct 16 this year.
It reminded shop owners to prioritise the use of Malay on their signboards, saying the signboards were not mere decorations but were regulated under the Advertisement (Federal Territory) By-laws 1982.
“The one eatery with giant Chinese signage that gives you China feel serves forbidden meat, Tun M”
Kedai tu jual pau babi. Perniagaan Cina dah lama amalkan guna tulisan Cina untuk discourage Melayu, bangsa paling mudah tertipu dan terpedaya di dunia, dari masuk kedai Cina yang ada babi. Kang tulis dalam BM, ada Melayu triggered pulak tuduh Cina nak jerat Melayu makan babi.
AS national language freaks defended Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad after he named Pavilion Bukit Jalil as the Kuala Lumpur mall that makes him feel as if “I was in China”, Muslim netizens have chided the twice former premier over his recent racist rant, contending that it is justified for the so-called food outlet ‘to spew’ Chinese characters.
Aside from being able to furnish evidence of only one business outlet (perhaps two) despite claiming that “all the signboards are in Chinese with English translations”, social media influencer Muhammad Najib (@muhammadnajib79) rightly pointed out that “the shop sells pork buns”.
“Chinese businesses have long practiced usage of Chinese language to discourage Malays, the most gullible and easily deceived race in the world, from patronising Chinese eateries that serve pork,” he penned in a post on the X platform in response to a tweet by Dr Mahathir who shared three photos what he meant by ‘huge’ Chinese signages.
“Imagine if the signage is written in BM (Bahasa Melayu), some triggered Malays will accuse the Chinese of trying to lure Malays into eating pork.”
Source : Focus
Mahathir The Loaf – Malays Managers Steal Money, Bad Paymaster
But the most dramatic event which had made the old man mad was when he experienced for himself the dishonesty of fellow Malays. He said – “Now I have a bakery. I want to say honestly, I am ashamed because among the Malay, Chinese or Burmese or any other workers, the Malay ones sometimes when they see money, they forget themselves, they become dishonest.”
He revealed he was forced to sack many of his Malay staff working in “The Loaf”, his Japanese-inspired bakery, for swindling money. Apparently, his bakery business suffered a mini scandal when the daily collection was not deposited into the bank. A Malay manager was then caught red-handed stealing money from the cash register and the incident infuriated Dr Mahathir.
Mahathir shared his sobbing story – “I am operating a bakery and have given many opportunities to Malays to hold management positions. Unfortunately, time and time again, honesty and integrity appear to be lacking as there have been staff who keep stealing money. They do not seem to understand that it is wrong to take what is not theirs. They do not think of the big picture or the long term.”
“I have tried for 22 years to help the Malays, maybe I have failed although some may say that I did achieve some success.
“Values dictate if one race should succeed or not… like the Japanese, they are ashamed if they fail. That is why they are afraid to fail… but the Malays, they lack shame,” he said.
Dr Mahathir said the Malays are also bankrupt of honesty.
He claimed of first-hand experience in the matter when his bakery company, The Loaf, tried in the past to sack several managers for stealing money from the restaurants.
“My bakery was meant to help the Malays… give them jobs… but what they did was sapu (swept or stole) my money. That is the problem with the Malays. They don’t have honesty,” he said.
Because the Malays lack honesty and integrity, hence, Mahathir justified why he was forced to give contracts to the ethnic Chinese – “We have to be trustworthy so people will give contracts to us. When we want to give contracts, we give to the Chinese instead because we know they will do their work properly. This is our weakness – not being trustworthy.”
Mahathir slammed the Malays for being less committed to work, not hardworking and at times, not trustworthy. Speaking at his Vision 2020 Forum, he said – “I believe the Malays have the same capabilities as the Europeans and the Japanese. But, the Malay culture remains a problem.”
He had earlier mocked the Malays students – “I am ashamed when I see the Chinese students studying three different languages, but still have a better grasp of the English language compared with their Malay peers. The Malays study two languages, Bahasa Malaysia and English, but they keep saying ‘all right, that is enough, no need to learn English any more’.”
According to the New Straits Times, Mahathir unleashed his frustration at the Malays – “We accuse others. We accuse the government, accuse other races. When we fail, they are at fault. We are never wrong.”
Source : Finance Twitter
Source : Malay Mail
Dr M-linked bakery Loaf back with new owner
The bakery was a venture between Mahathir and a company with Japanese interests, Motoko Resources Sdn Bhd, with Mahathir owning a 51% stake. It closed down in April 2018 after 12 years in business.
Ekovest Group under executive chairman Lim Kang Hoo has decided to revive the brand through its wholly-owned subsidiary Duke Dining Sdn Bhd, which has bought over The Loaf’s entire interest.
Its CEO, Gopalan Menon, told FMT that the purchase was part of the group’s foray into the food and beverage (F&B) sector.
“We also own a one Michelin star restaurant known as Xin Dau Jin in Eko Cheras Mall, and are planning to acquire more F&B assets,” he said.
He said plans are in the pipeline to open 10 Loaf outlets by the end of the year.
Ekovest has revived four outlets so far in Langkawi, Pavilion, Sunway Pyramid and NuSentral.
The first outlet to be revived was at the Telaga Harbour Marina in Langkawi.
The bakery had originally opened in 12 locations, including KLCC, Pavilion and NuSentral in Kuala Lumpur, and Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya.
Mahathir, who was often seen dining at some of the outlets, was reported as saying that the entity was a loss-making concern, and that he had no choice but to dispose of it.
Source : FMT
The Coverage Malaysia
