I had no intention of shaming Terengganu people for their English, says actress Maya Karin

PETALING JAYA, Oct 7 — Maya Karin has sought to clear the air after one of her tweets was misinterpreted as being derogatory towards people from Terengganu.

The 39-year-old previously shared her experience about crossing paths with a young girl who failed to understand a question in English about her age, only responding when the same query was repeated in Malay.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik was tagged in the tweet.

Several people did not take kindly to the Munafik 2 star’s statement, which they misread as an attempt to glorify the use of English over the national language.

The heated debate eventually prompted Maya to post an explanation about the original motivation behind her criticism.

“I had no intention of belittling anyone. (The statement) was not focused on Terengganu people alone, it just so happened that I was speaking at a university in Terengganu.

“My focus is on the quality of education and the confidence of our young students,” she wrote.

At the same time, she acknowledged that Malaysians who were not proficient in the national language also constituted a problem that should be addressed.

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