IPOH: For more than 40 years, a concrete signpost erected by the Ipoh-Lahat trunk road served as a reminder for the people to forge unity through the use of the national language. 

The slab, with the words Utamakan-lah Bahasa Kebangsaan (Give prominence to the national language), was also reminiscent of the days when the national language was known simply as bahasa kebangsaan. 

Today, the signpost, erected by the Perak government immediately after independence, lies broken by the roadside near the junction to the Bukit Merah industrial and residential areas.

Some residents of a nearby housing area tore down the structure because it blocked their view of oncoming vehicles when waiting to cross the trunk road.

Tan Li Heong, who lives in the area, said the signpost was torn down about two years ago. 

"I was unhappy when some residents brought down the structure because in my own travels within the country, I have never seen one like this anywhere else," said the 41-year-old trader.

Member of Parliament for Ipoh Barat, M. Kulasegaran, who informed the New Straits Times about the destroyed signpost, said he first saw it in 1969 while travelling to Ipoh as a 12-year-old representing his school in a softball competition.

"It saddens me that such a simple yet historical signpost has been destroyed as a result of public apathy.

"The residents could have requested the authorities to shift the structure further away from the junction." 

However, there is still hope as Kulasegaran has given an assurance that he would meet Public Works Department officials and request them to repair the signpost and erect it at a proper place.