SUNGAI BULOH: Ramanan Ramakrishnan, Pakatan Harapan’s candidate in Sungai Buloh, urges the voters to come out and vote on November 19.

He introduced himself in Cantonese and asked the voters in Sungai Buloh to come out and vote on November 19 and help Pakatan Harapan win.

He told Sin Chew Daily he could speak in four languages, namely Malay, English, Tamil and Cantonese.

He said he used to have plenty of Chinese business partners when he was doing business last time, and from them he learned to speak some Cantonese.

“We normally spoke in English but sometimes they  would speak to one another in Cantonese, and I slowly picked up a little from there.

“I can speak Cantonese and have no problem communicating with the Chinese voters here.

“Actually I can also speak some Mandarin, but I worry I can’t pronounce correctly and get my message across.”

Ramanan agrees that an additional language or dialect is an advantage, as he can mingle more easily with the Chinese voters in Sungai Buloh.

“They can accept me more readily because we speak a common language. They also know I can understand them.”