Syahredzan Johan has responded to a social media posting which criticised the Chinese couplets in Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s office.
The posting claimed the couplets give the impression that the office is located in Beijing and described it as an insult to the national language.
However, Syahredzan failed to see the merits of this argument.
“I consider myself as someone who is keen on wanting to uphold Bahasa Melayu. If you don’t believe this, you can read my previous articles.
“But I do not understand why this (the couplets) has become an issue about respecting the national language?” he said in a Facebook post this morning.
Syahredzan, who is DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang’s political secretary, also questioned if the critics attempted to find out what the Chinese couplets meant.
“The phrases can be roughly translated as ‘when people do not quarrel and the family is peaceful, all business dealings will bring profit’ and ‘the country which is successful and prosperous will head towards happiness’.
“The couplets are often placed at the entrance of a house to provide ‘ong‘ (good fortune) to its occupants.
“Yes, we might not believe in these things and I am not certain if the finance minister himself believes in this but it is a part of Chinese culture.
“In my opinion, he (the minister) wanted to decorate his office with a poem or phrase which reflected his culture,” he added.
Syahredzan questioned if it is no longer acceptable for non-Malay ministers to display items from their respective cultures in their own offices.
“Since when has Chinese culture stopped being a part of the Malaysian landscape? The Chinese do not only live in Beijing,” he added.
Syahredzan noted how Muslims have Quranic verses in their offices, which are there not for official reasons but because it is part of their identity.
He also pointed out there is an excerpt from the Surah Al-Hud in the finance minister’s office.
“Yes. The national language must be used for all official functions. This is in the Federal Constitution and cannot be disputed. But this (the couplets) is not about a language issue.
“Pasting Chinese phrases in the office to usher prosperity is not related to official matters.
“The Malay language will not be affected or belittled just because Lim wants to decorate his office with Chinese culture,” he added.
The Finance Minister questioned why certain quarters only chose to highlight the wall hangings and not the Quran verses in his office.
“Why only publicise this when there are Al-Quran verses in my office as well?
“This was done during the Chinese New Year period,” he said, referring to when the decorative piece was put up.
“Don’t fall for the racist and extremist rhetoric of quarters which support the opposition,” he said.
“Those who want to play on such sentiments are wasting time. Better to focus on the economy and developing the rakyat.
“Remember that a room has four walls, so do not only look at one. Do not get involved with those who have either lost their minds or had none at all,” Lim said.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Najib Razak claimed that a framed wall hanging bearing Quranic verses in Lim’s office had been left behind by him during his time in office.
Najib, who also took on the role of finance minister before his loss in the 14th general election last year, said in a Facebook post that the picture had been in the office for a long time, emphasising that it was not put there by Lim.
“Today, Lim used these Quranic verses as an example, when he defended having Chinese writings displayed in the Finance Ministry.
“The Al-Quran verses displayed in his office was actually left behind by me.
“It’s been there for a long time now,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Najib also urged his followers not to “make a big deal” out of the issue as the finance minister’s office now belonged to Lim.
“Hence, it’s up to him how he wants to decorate his office,” wrote Najib.
“Let him.
“He’s not breaking any of the country’s laws, and it doesn’t need to be made into an issue.”