Recently, a tweet from Malaysian lawyer Lim Wei Jiet went viral on social media amongst many Malaysians. In it he expresses his dissatisfaction with those who speak in Chinese around others who do not understand.
In the tweet he writes on how he has seen this happen many times in professional settings like team lunches. Next, he expresses that it is cringy and rude and can lead others to feel excluded. After receiving many responses, he followed up with how disheartened he is from reading all the bad experiences being shared.
Next, he urges those who speak in Chinese to be more aware and speak in English or BM. These languages are much more common and can be understood by most Malaysians after all.
Also, he makes it quite clear that this are his views and do not reflect any organisation that he is a part of. What do you think? Should those who speak Chinese be more aware and put in effort to speak a common language?
As someone who doesn’t speak Chinese, it is quite difficult to feel included in a conversation when you don’t speak the language. Especially during the professional settings where you might feel that you’re missing out on crucial information. Let’s all try to be a bit more considerate, no matter what the language is.
