KOTA KINABALU: Alex Wong grew up befriending Malays and is now slighted after a clip of him stuttering during his swearing-in ceremony as assemblyman for Karamunting has gone viral.
The Warisan assemblyman for Karamunting said the viral clip of him stuttering in Bahasa Melayu was exaggerated.
"I am not angry", but it is not good to highlight it too much, as this is a small matter. Yet they (cybertroopers) made it big.
"Just because I am Chinese and not very fluent in Bahasa Melayu, you should not mock me, right?
"However, if a Malay tries to speak in Chinese but is not fluent, we Chinese will be happy as they are learning our language.
"We are in Sabah, we do not play on racial or language sentiments," the 53-year-old former businessman told reporters while visiting the media centre at the Sabah Legislative Assembly building here.
Wong, however, said he is thankful to his detractors as "now the whole of Malaysia knows me".
Wong who was born in Taman Rimba in Sandakan, said during the swearing-in ceremony last Thursday, he was nervous as he was a first-time assemblyman, even though he has been serving the people for seven years.
He also said that at the time, he could not read the text clearly and became even more nervous when Speaker Datuk Seri Kadzim Yahya guided him through the speech.
"For students, the first time is always scary. So, if there was anything, if I made a mistake, I apologise."
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