COMMENT | On the first day of Chinese New Year on Jan 22, I shared this post online under the heading, “The Malays are the nicest people around. A Chinese thinks so.”

I wrote: “On the first day of Chinese New Year today (Jan 22), I did something different this year. I attended a Malay wedding at Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur.

“My friend, Jimmy, and myself were the only two Chinese at the wedding. This was not unexpected as it was CNY. That was also one good reason why I went - to help make the happy event a little merrier and more meaningful for the wedded couple, Taufik and Eva, and their parents. Hopefully.

“The gracious hosts received us warmly. When we congratulated them, they were also quick to wish Jimmy and me ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’.

“The younger set who greeted us by taking our hand to bless them on the forehead is a Malay tradition which I truly appreciate. To me, that was the...