Ridhuan Tee: Malaysia Airlines Doesn’t Even Have One Page Of Bahasa Melayu In Their Magazine
The Malaysian Chinese Muslim convert preacher made the remarks as Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) runs a public campaign promoting the national language — a language he says MAS has quietly removed from its own in-flight publication.
Outspoken Muslim convert preacher and academic Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah has directed criticism at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), questioning the logic of running public campaigns to promote a language that is, by law, mandatory for all Malaysians — while Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the national carrier, has removed Bahasa Melayu entirely from its in-flight lifestyle magazine.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (23 Sep), Tee, whose name was Tee Chuan Seng before he converted, said DBP’s campaign efforts were misplaced.
“BM adalah bahasa negara, wajib dikuasai rakyat,” he wrote, arguing that a compulsory national language should not require a promotional drive.
He then pointed to in-flight publications as a more pressing concern, noting that MAS once carried at least one page in Bahasa Melayu in its magazine.
Malaysia Airlines’ in-flight magazine, Going Places, is published primarily in English—a format consistent with most international carriers, where English serves as the default language of global aviation and international travel.
Airlines cite several operational reasons for the approach: English maximises readability across a diverse international passenger base, aligns with civil aviation’s globally mandated language standards, and reduces production costs and physical weight from maintaining multilingual print layouts.
What People Said
The comments section did not stay calm for long.
Most of Tee’s followers agreed with him.
Several pointed to vernacular schools as the same problem in a different building — one commenter noted that a national school in Semeling had Bahasa Melayu in exactly one place: the word “KELUAR” above the exit door.
Others went after the government directly.
One commenter pointed out that the Prime Minister holds a degree in Bahasa Melayu.
The observation was not made as a compliment.
But not everyone was there for the policy debate.
A portion of the comments turned toward racial remarks, with several directed at Chinese Malaysians.
Tee himself also received a share — at least two commenters questioned his standing to speak on Malay language issues, given that he is an ethnic Chinese Muslim convert.
A Pattern Of Posts
The post arrives amid a pattern of public commentary from Tee on language visibility in Malaysian public life.
In August, he drew widespread debate after questioning why a Hungry Ghost Festival banner in Ampang carried no Bahasa Melayu.
Tee, who is also Deputy President of Muafakat Nasional (MN), a political NGO turned advocacy group led by former minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, followed that with criticism of commercial signboards in Cheras.
A police report was lodged against him the same month over alleged racial discord in his social media posts.
Critics frequently accuse Tee of trying to be “more Malay than the Malays themselves.
This phrase is a common piece of feedback directed at him by political opponents, social media commentators, and members of the Chinese community who find his aggressively pro-Malay, right-wing stances ironic given his own Chinese heritage.
DBP and Malaysia Airlines had not responded to the remarks at the time of publication.
