If you had already noticed, that I was pretty quiet for about two weeks leading up to the Chinese New Year that falls on the 29th of January. I was busy cleaning my house in preparation for the new year. During this festive period, we (Chinese) would usually go around visiting family and friends, wishing them health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year.
This rooster year, Malaysia Airlines came out with a simple and sincere ad that features non-Chinese offering Chinese New Year wishes in Mandarin and other Chinese dialects such as Teochew and Cantonese.
I thought this was a very heartwarming way of showcasing our region’s diversity and the message that came with the video,
“The richness of Malaysia (and Singapore) begins with our people. Experience a truly Malaysian greeting this Chinese New Year.”
was pretty clever in a way that (not surprisingly) most people in our region would know a second language or a third – and this is what connects all of us together.
In the words of Charlemagne, “To have another language is to possess a second soul.“