Man advises tourists of service workers in Malaysia being mostly foreigners, highlights language barrier

The Sun

27-04-2025

WHEN traveling, language barriers can be challenging for both tourists and residents, making it difficult for either party to communicate — even for simple matters such as asking for directions.
A man recently voiced a similar concern, advising tourists to bear in mind that many of the people they encounter while travelling in Malaysia are foreign workers — particularly if they are inclined to form a negative perception of the country.
'90% of the people in the service industry — such as waiters, waitresses, cashiers, cooks — at commercialised restaurants or chains are not Malaysians. The same goes for most of the security guards too.
'So, please don't be quick to judge or blame them. They might not understand English as well as us Malaysians,' he claimed on Threads.
The man said he shared these sentiments after witnessing a tourist at a shopping mall asking a cleaner a question, alleging that the cleaner did not speak English and had only learned a little Bahasa Melayu.
'He tried to explain (to the tourist) using the little Bahasa he knew, but the tourist thought he was being uncooperative,' he said.
While the man intended to highlight the high number of foreign workers in Malaysia, his post was met with differing opinions, with many users opposing his view.
'This is funny because 90% of my bad experiences in Malaysia are with locals, not foreigners,' one user quipped.
'This is not good advice. There are also Malaysians working in the service industry. As for the non-Malaysian staff, I've found them to be some of the nicest people,' another user chimed in.
'Does it matter whether the workers are Malaysian or not? A bad experience is a bad experience, regardless,' remarked another user.
Other commenters, however, understood the man's point of view — with many agreeing that tourists should learn some basic Bahasa Melayu, as it is the national language.
'Their first language is neither English nor Bahasa Malaysia. There's a good chance they didn't receive much education due to poverty. However, the fact that foreign workers speak in Bahasa Melayu is a testament to their effort. Tourists — most of whom only speak one language — need to understand that,' one user observed.
'Everyone was very nice when we visited Kuala Lumpur and Melaka. But it's true — it helps to speak a bit of Bahasa Melayu mixed with English,' another netizen commented.