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Mandarin-speaking Malay mother-daughter say learning more languages promote unity
By MING TEOH
Photos By YAP CHEE HONG
- Family
- Friday, 10 Oct 2025
2:00 PM MYT

The bond between Fatimah (left) and her mother Arba deepens through their shared language.
In Fatimah Noryyah’s household, conversations often flow between Bahasa Malaysia, English, and Mandarin. Sometimes, they are even sprinkled with Korean and Japanese phrases from K-dramas and J-pop songs.
For Fatimah, 17, and her mother Arba Ali, 53, being multilingual isn’t unusual – it’s just part of being Malaysian.
What makes them stand out though, is that both mother and daughter are fluent in Mandarin – a language many wouldn’t expect from a Malay family.
“It all started with my mum,” says Fatimah, a Form Five student and singer. “She went to a Chinese school when she was young, and because of that, she can speak Mandarin fluently. So, when it was my turn, my uncle encouraged me to do the same.”