Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz today expressed his disgust over the move by some quarters who have taken it upon themselves to ‘change’ the names of several places in a bid to fit their own commercial agendas.

Referring to the recent uproar over Kampung Pantai Dalam, now sometimes being called Pantai Sentral, Nazri told Astro Awani that he objected strongly to such a move.

“I’ve got a lot of objections (to that). As the Minister of Culture and Heritage, it is very important. Names of places must be retained and remembered. And the names were there for a reason. All I want to say is that if the name is Pantai, let it be Pantai. Why do you have to call it Pantai Sentral?”

Nazri said that it was “ridiculous” to have another area with the 'central’ theme as Pudu Sentral, KL Sentral and Sentul Sentral already exist.

“I think Malaysians are not proud of who they are. They are copycats. They are thinking too much of commercialisation and not interested in retaining history.”

“I am disgusted with Malaysians who have this attitude,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2014, which has been ongoing since Thursday.

Nazri cited Singapore as an example that he felt should be exemplified.

“When it comes to heritage, they are proud. They have Hospital Kandang Kerbau, it doesn’t matter. You name a place after its qualities.

“Like Kuala Lumpur, it doesn’t need a western name. It’s mud, but look at KL today, nobody thinks KL has a negative name.”

“What is wrong with us? Why? Why do we need to change? This is all heritage…they(the names) were there for years,” he said.

Nazri said that he would be bringing this matter up in the Cabinet as Malaysia cannot continue to lose its identity in this manner.

“Certainly, I will (bring it up). I am very concerned.”

“For example, Batang Berjuntai… why (change it to) Bestari? Are all Malaysians corrupted, or dirty minded? Is that all you can see, you can see nothing else?”

“Look at Kota Damansara. Now Damansara has become like a big state. There are so many Damansaras, some outside the Damansara area. Is is just so we can sell houses?”

“What’s going to happen to Malaysia one day when everything is changed? Soon all the names will be history.”

Asked if there was something the ministry could do to encourage a greater appreciation for heritage and culture, Nazri replied: “There is something wrong. Maybe our education system but I don’t know what it is. It is not easy to change overnight. It needs a lot of changes. I think it is inferiority complex.”

Yesterday, Astro Awani reported about a wave of criticism on social media following reports of the name Pantai Sentral being used for several commercial developments, instead of the traditional 'Kampung Pantai Dalam.'

Among others, former Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff spoke out about the issue, saying that the government needs to consult the community before making such changes.

Other notable ‘name changes’ were Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum to KL Eco City and Kampung Kerinchi to Bangsar South.