Apim to continue fight to remove ‘keling’

(The Star) – An Indian Muslim association will continue its bid to remove the word “keling” from the Kamus Dewan despite losing its appeal in the High Court recently.

Selangor and Federal Territory Angkatan Pelapor India Muslim (Apim) chairman Ramli Abdullah said the association would be sending a memorandum to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) next month to reiterate the importance of removing the offensive word from the dictionary.

“It is a derogatory and humiliating word for Indians. In the third edition of the Kamus Dewan, it is stated that keling is a ‘kata kurang halus’ (impolite) word to decribe those from south India and it is better to refer them as Indians.

“Yet in the fourth edition, the phrase ‘kata kurang halus’ is completely removed. We all know a bad word is a bad word. How can we use a bad word to educate people?” he said at a press conference Monday.

Ramli said Apim would also plead its case to political parties, non-governmental organisations and the Prime Minister if discussions with DBP falls through.

On May 14, the High Court dismissed Apim’s appeal to remove the definition and use of the word in the Malay dictionary.

The court had ruled that non-discrimination rights under Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution applied only to individuals and not associations.

Ramli also claimed that there were other “insulting words” which needed to be removed.

“DBP still has a lot of explaining to do. We have nothing against them but we want them to listen and realise that words such as ‘keling’ affect unity and integrity in the country.

“Such words should be removed from the dictionary so that it is not repeated by the younger generation,” he said, adding that they would file a fresh case in court if all else fails.