FRESH from being targeted for not being fluent in the national language not too long ago, another group of Malaysian Chinese who identify as ‘bananas’ (colloquial for Chinese who cannot speak their own dialects/mandarin) complain about being on the receiving end of abuse.
In a post on the Meanwhile in Malaysia Facebook forum, an anonymous poster shared his unpleasant experience of being told off about his linguistic shortcomings.
He asked if his inability to speak Chinese really that big a deal though he did add that he was brushing up on his Mandarin.
The post elicited many responses with some offering kinship.
Some urged the poster to simply remove such elements from his immediate sphere.
Others suggested to avoid such “radical” Chinese.
One said the poster had a better attitude for wanting to at least learn Mandarin as compared to his mono-lingual peers.
A few offered tips on how the poster could improve his Mandarin speaking skills.
Some pointed out that this is Malaysia, hence it was not pertinent for one to know Chinese although that could be advantageous.
One netizen spelled out the few exceptions where learning Mandarin was required, otherwise, he advised using “sign language” to get the point across.
Another said the poster should have fought fire with fire by giving the two strangers a taste of their own medicine.
One even wondered why this is even relevant as it is a non-issue in neighbouring countries.
Sticking with the ‘fruit’ theme, some netizens simply proclaimed the superiority of one species over the other.
The above post though light-hearted in tone highlights that linguistic abilities still matter greatly in this country. Whether it becomes a unifying factor or one that creates a Tower of Babel scenario underlines why language remains a political hot potato in Malaysia. – April 30, 2024
Main image credit: Freepik
