Mansor Zakaria, the Kedah local government and health exco, is confident that making the usage of Jawi mandatory as the second script, after the Roman alphabet, on all billboards and signboards in the PAS-led state would not disrupt racial harmony.

“We want people to recognise that when they come to Kedah, they are in Tanah Melayu, Malaysia. We are not a ‘negeri orang putih’ (Western nation) or anything like that. We want people to understand and be able to read.