KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian officials should not feel pressured to speak English in front of foreign investors, especially when interpreters are available, said former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli.
The comment comes after a video surfaced showing an executive councillor (exco) attempting to speak in English at the 2026 Malaysia-China Economic Trade & Conference in Sungai Petani, reportedly including the line: “We also a lot of water”.
The exco later clarified that he meant the state usually experiences flooding in September, hence “a lot of water”.
Speaking on the Yang Berhenti Menteri podcast, Rafizi said language should not become a source of embarrassment in international investment settings.
He said Chinese investors generally fall into two categories, with not all requiring English.
“Most large Chinese investors, especially the big ones, often have work experience in the US or UK.
“Their English is usually better than ours,” he said.
“But for mid-sized companies, even if they are worth RM3 billion or RM4 billion, they don’t understand English at all,” he added.
Drawing from his experience with foreign delegations during his time in government, Rafizi said the presence of translators makes the issue non-problematic.
“In many trade missions, most investors now are from China. If they don’t understand English, they don’t mind us speaking fully in Malay because they have interpreters,” he said.
Rafizi also said officials should not feel ashamed if English is not their strength.
“If it’s not our expertise, there’s no need to be embarrassed to the point of reading a speech. And this wasn’t even a prepared speech,” he said.
He suggested that the viral line likely came from the exco speaking spontaneously without referring to any text.
“There’s no way an officer wrote a speech that says, ‘we are a lot of water’.
“Usually if it’s an English speech, even if it’s not high-quality English, it would still be simple English,” he said.
“So I think it was him trying to speak English off the cuff, without referring to a text, then it became ‘we are a lot of water’,” Rafizi added.
He concluded that the key lesson for public officials is to prioritise clear communication, not appearances.
“My advice, even to myself, is this, if the investor doesn’t understand English, just speak Malay. They will have their own interpreter,” he said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
