AS MALAYSIA’S Chinese community ushers in Chinese New Year, many famous figures including politicians have conveyed their well wishes on social media as part of acknowledging the Chinese community and their culture.
Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh made her own spin in her Chinese New Year greetings on social media by conveying it in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin, which she admits is not her strong suit.
“Hanayo is trying her hand in Mandarin, I’m trying my best. I can speak in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Cantonese but I find Mandarin very challenging but every Chinese New Year I will try to greet you in Mandarin,” she captioned in her Twitter post.
Hannah wished Malaysians in Bahasa Malaysia first by reminding the nation to appreciate their time spent with family and not to always look at their phones.
“Happy Chinese New Year to those celebrating and remember, we must always the time spent with our families and do not play with your phone all the time.
“For those heading back to their hometowns, please be careful driving on the roads,” she said in her greeting video posted on social media.
She then started her well-wishes in Mandarin and despite the smooth flow in her video, the outtakes depicted otherwise.
In the outtakes, the Segambut MP was making sure that she remembered her script and struggled with the intonation, even letting out a mildly frustrated sigh.
With her video gaining traction of over 382,000 views on Twitter, netizens praised Hannah’s efforts despite her struggle in grasping the language.
‘By the way, your intonation is good, voice is good. Keep it up,” a netizen encouraged.
“Not exactly right. Almost there,” another netizen added.
“In terms of the everyday Malaysian Mandarin, your Mandarin is already well above the passing mark. Commendable achievement!” a netizen chimed in.