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In conjunction with Teacher’s Day or Hari Guru, Jing Jing made a brief update through the social media feature, otherwise known as a “Story”, which would typically disappear after 24 hours. In a cute and humourous twist, sAAhe updated that she is wishing herself “Happy Teacher’s Day” because she has been spending her time teaching Penang Hokkien, through her active social media accounts, including Facebook, YouTube & Instagram. In simple English and typical Malaysian fashion, her Instagram handle reads “learnpenanghokkienlah”. Jing Jing has been actively posting on Penang Hokkien, in hopes that Malaysian youth(s) will either pick up, appreciate, or reconnect with what is lost. Hokkien in general has been increasingly replaced by the more commercially viable Mandarin.

In the story update posted on the morning of 15 May 2026, she used the words “wa kaki” to mean I myself, not to be confused with the Malay “kaki”, which can mean “leg” or an addict when used in an idiom. However, “kaki” is also used in the term “kaki lima”, to denote a roofed walkway in front of shops.

Now, what makes it even funnier is that, Jing Jing wrote that she has not received any complaints from parents, but that’s largely because Jing Jing’s the first to complain about the parents (likely for not doing enough to let their offspring learn, listen to, speak Hokkien when they actually can, but are forced to function almost excclusively in Mandarin instead).

Penang is unique in that those outside the Chinese diaspora can also function in Hokkien, in addition to at least Malay and/or English. Unfortunately, unless you still use some form of Hokkien to a certain extent, it is usually those from the older generation and very rarely those in their 20s and 30s. 

16 May every year has been designated as Teacher’s Day or Hari Guru in Malaysia. However, its significance is also more a day and a way to formally endorse the Razak Report, which proposed a centralised, common education system, where Malay and English are taught in the national schools or Sekolah Kebangsaan, government-aided and where the Malay-medium is used, as Malay is the national language of Malaysia. While there is nothing to stop you from picking up Mandarin, Tamil or Bahasa Arab in these Malay-medium schools, the Razak report has clearly stated that for the class(es) to open and sustain, it must have the approval of at least 15 students, along with their parents’ consensus. Otherwise, Malay and English should be taught according to one’s timetable. While national-type primary schools that emphasises student’s functioning in the mother tongue is allowed in Malaysia, it is only through these national-type schools that you’ll formally learn the writing systems of Standard Chinese and Tamil. However, Malay and English are also taught (possibly at a lower standard because the teachers usually have to spend time translating and explaining the different language systems, especially because these languages do not use alphabets and have different structures). If your Malay language proficiency is below the acceptable standard prior to entry into the Sekolah Kebangsaan system, you’ll usually spend an extra year or so in a Kelas Peralihan.