SHAH ALAM: The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has consented to renaming Jalan Semangat in Petaling Jaya, near here, as Jalan Professor Khoo Kay Kim.
Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari said Sultan Sharafuddin gave his consent to honour the late national historian for his contributions to the country.
“The passing of national historian Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim on May 28 has left behind the legacy of a nationalist and patriot, especially his involvement in the drafting of Rukun Negara as an effort to restore national harmony after the May 13, 1969 incident.
“As a history scholar, his major contributions were in establishing the Malaysian historiography of the 19th century. His major works like ‘The Western Malay States 1850-1873: The Effects of Commercial Development on Malay Politics’ have become a code in Malaysian history writings,“ he said in a statement here today.
Amirudin said apart from his job as a scholar at Universiti Malaya, Khoo was also a public intellectual actively involved in giving his views on politics and issues related to national development and also his favourite topic, football. Khoo died of lung infection at the age of 82 on May 28 this year.
In another development, Amirudin said the state government has decided that all road signs in Selangor should be in Bahasa Melayu only.
“This is in line with Article 152 of the Federal Constitution and National Language Act 1963/1967.
“This matter has gained the attention of Tuanku Sultan Selangor who has decreed and advised the state government to uphold the status of Bahasa Melayu by ruling that only Bahasa Melayu be used on official government sign boards including those of local authorities,“ he said.
Amirudin said the state government’s stand is consistent with Pakatan Harapan’s commitment to protect key principles of the Federal Constitution, such as the status of Malay Rulers, the special rights of Malays, Islam as the official religion and Bahasa Melayu as the national language.
Recent media reports said there were still bilingual road signs in Tanjong Sepat near here although Sultan Sharafuddin had said last year that road signs in Selangor should be in Bahasa Melayu only. — Bernama
