Are Malaysians generally bigoted towards those with foreign accents?
For some background, I am a Malaysian with a heavy British mixed accent. Till this day no one including me and family know how it happened since I had it ever since I was a child. (Probably due to my international exposure)
Generally, often than not by those of Malay and Chinese descent would mock my accent and language ability or just get impatiently frustrated.
For instance I was trying to communicate in Malay but the other person would show me frustration in understanding me purely because of the accent. Would then go on to make remarks to their friends/colleagues that I can't speak Malay. The same thing happens with Chinese people albeit more distasteful.
Would have Chinese people confidently say to their friends "他不懂中文” “为什么你跟他说他不懂“ in front of my face.
Obviously I could make my own nasty remarks back in Mandarin but I don't purely because I see it as a waste of energy.
Is it common for Malaysians (not all) to be this bigoted just because of an accent?
Posted Mar 12, 2025, 8:05 PM UTC