Pakatan Harapan candidate Thonny Chee responds to Mandarin fluency criticism, stating Malay and English are sufficient for communication in the Api-Api constituency.
KOTA KINABALU: Thonny Chee, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Api-Api state seat in the 17th Sabah State Election (PRN), has hit back at criticism claiming he struggles to communicate with the Chinese community due to not being proficient in Mandarin, and is instead only fluent in Malay and English.
Chee said language should not be an obstacle to serving that community as residents in his constituency are also fluent in Malay and English.
“I know that in Api-Api, the Chinese community is fluent in both Malay and English. So I can use these two languages to communicate with them. Those trying to play up this issue are actually not being smart because I see no issue at all,” he said.
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He said this when met by the media after mingling with voters at several premises around Api-Api on Monday (November 17). His campaign programme was also joined by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and PKR Vice-President Chang Lih Kang.
Chee explained that he actually understands the meaning of words spoken in Mandarin, but does not dare to respond in the language for fear of being misunderstood.
“Mandarin has many different intonations. Sometimes the pronunciation is the same but a slight change in tone can alter the meaning. So instead of hanging myself by speaking Mandarin, it’s better for me to speak in Malay or English, which they also understand.
“At the same time, I am also learning and improving my Mandarin with my sifu (teacher) here,” he said, referring to Chang.
Api-Api is one of the state constituencies under the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat, along with Likas and Luyang.
The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 29 as polling day, while Nov 25 is the early voting day.
For the latest news on the 17th Sabah State Election, please visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php
N20: API-API: SABAH: 17,782 voters
1. Ng Chun Sua (PIS)
2. Ting Shu Kiong (STAR)
3. Soh Kee Suat @ So Chee Say (PBK)
4. Loi Kok Liang (Warisan)
5. Thonny Chee (PH-PKR)
(2020: Christina Liew Chin Jin: Warisan Plus-PKR: Maj: 5,347 votes) – Bernama
