A greeting by any other name is just as sweet

The Star Malaysia · Wong Chun Wai · 2026-10-31 23:00 UTC

The varied languages in Malaysia has led to festive wishes sounding different from community to community. But what really matters is sharing goodwill and embracing the goodness.

FOR a long time, we have wished our Indian friends “Happy Deepavali”, our Malay friends “Selamat Hari Raya” and our Chinese friends “Kong Hei Fatt Choy” in Cantonese or “Keong Hee Huat Chye” in Hokkien.

It was that simple. Everyone understood the goodwill behind the greetings. Nobody needed a dictionary, a cultural seminar, or a social media debate to explain what we meant.

Today, even the names of festivals can become controversial: Deepavali versus Diwali, Hari Raya versus Lebaran, buka puasa versus iftar, and Kong Hei Fatt Choy versus Gong Xi Fa Cai.

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