Connect with us

Social Stories

M’sians Wrongly Bash KKM for Translation of “Air Kosong”, Mistake Actually Due to FB’s Autotranslate

Published

ft image kkm empty water
Source: Twitter & Facebook

Follow us on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest stories and updates daily.

Language is an important aspect, especially when it comes to sending a message to the public.

Recently, a post by the Ministry of Health (MOH) was circulating on social media as netizens were surprised at an apparent translation mistake made by MOH.

The image was a screenshot of the post on Facebook, which had been automatically translated by the social media platform.

kkm e1641360149394
Source: Facebook

 

The original post which was in Malay, highlighted the importance of drinking plain water and made it our New Year’s resolution to consume more “air kosong” (plain water).

But, what turned it into an issue was how badly “air kosong” was auto-translated to mean “empty water”.

“How many glasses of empty water have you drank today.”

The Facebook post has since been taken down, but is still available for viewing in other platforms such as Twitter, where it has been widely circulated.

 

Twitter netizens also pointed out the same mistake

As it was still available on other platforms such as Twitter, netizens took the opportunity to slam KKM’s “mistake”, when in fact, it was the fault of the auto translate function on Facebook.

 

Apart from calling the MOH stupid, a Twitter user decided to leave a cynical comment after pointing out the “empty water” mistake.

sarcastic comments e1641360972339
Source: Twitter

 

MOH released a statement

After realising that the “mistake” had been circulating on the internet, MOH released a statement yesterday (4 January 2022) on their Facebook page to clarify what had happened.

“The screenshot image that circulated around did not depict the actual poster that was posted, which was originally in Malay and not in English.”

kkm statement e1641363015540
Source: Facebook

“This happened because the user activated their auto-translate text feature on Facebook from their phone,” read the statement.

They also urged Malaysians to not rely on the auto-translate feature on Facebook as it often does not give an accurate translation.

 

Netizens gave out suggestions

A number of netizens left some suggestions for MOH to implement in their future postings to avoid such situations and to highlight the importance of language as a multiracial country.

“The implementation of 2 languages in postings are indeed crucial to avoid readers from using Facebook or Google translate which can sometimes lead to huge misunderstandings.”

A user also urged the Ministry of Education to increase the standard of English in kindergartens and above to ensure that every Malaysian is comfortable enough with the language.

suggestion for kkm e1641362374358
Source: Facebook

 

You can checkout the full statement from MOH here:

KENYATAAN MEDIA KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA ISU TERJEMAHAN AIR KOSONG KEPADA “EMPTY WATER” DI FACEBOOK KKM

Posted by KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA on Monday, January 3, 2022

 

Do you think official government social media platforms should use dual-language in their postings? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

 

Also read: “Just blocking the sun only” Penang Shop Puts Up ‘Honest’ Banner, Netizens Think It’s Brilliant

ft sun

Follow us on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest stories and updates daily.



Just In

fastft 1 fastft 1
News12 hours ago

Group of Non Fasters Evade Arrest Following Raid at Restaurant in Kedah

During the ongoing Ramadan period, authorities have been vigilant in identifying those who are eligible to fast but refuse to...

collage 66 collage 66
News15 hours ago

M’sian Factory Worker Dies After Colliding With PDRM Motorcycle During Police Escort

A man died after the Yamaha 135LC motorcycle he was riding collided with a police escort motorcycle at Kilometer 5.3...

certft certft
News18 hours ago

Forged Birth Certificate Syndicate Busted, Documents Allegedly Sold for Up to RM10,000

A syndicate involved in forging documents for late birth registrations is reportedly charging between RM8,000 and RM10,000 for each processed...

masft masft
News19 hours ago

MAS Flight from Manila Forced to Return After One of Its Engines Catches Fire, No Injuries Reported

A Malaysia Airlines flight from Manila to Kuala Lumpur had to return to Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday afternoon (March...

collage 61 collage 61
News2 days ago

Court Tells Aliff Syukri to Enter Defence Over Obscene Raya Music Video Charges from 3 Years Ago

Malaysian businessman and self-proclaimed number 1 singer, Dato Seri Aliff Syukri, released his latest Raya song, Raya ya ya, last...

collage 59 collage 59
News2 days ago

14yo School Athlete in Malacca Dies After Collapsing During Recess Time

A secondary school male student in Malacca passed away after collapsing near the field while walking to the canteen yesterday...

collage 57 collage 57
News2 days ago

Kajang Man Punches & Breaks Nose of Unlicensed 17yo Driver After Misunderstanding, Gets Arrested by PDRM

A Malaysian man allegedly punched and broke the nose of a teenage driver in Kajang, causing the latter to bleed....

riotft riotft
News2 days ago

PDRM Arrest 13 Foreign Workers for Attempting to Incite Riot Following Protest in Teluk Intan

The police have arrested 13 foreign factory workers in connection with a riot after a viral clip showed hundreds of...

Announcement

Latest Videos



TRENDING TODAY