SERI KEMBANGAN: The Chinese Character Working Committee has announced the top ten candidate Hanzi characters for the 2024 Malaysian Hanzi of the Year, with "Madani" included among the finalists.
The ten selected characters are "liu" (durian), "shu" (digital), "mian" (exemption), "wa" (stocking), "dong" (sinkhole), "bi" (currency), "wen" (stable), "shui" (flood), "sheng" (rise), and "chang" (Madani).
The character "chang" was also among last year's top ten candidates.
Except for "wen" (stable) and "chang" (Madani), the other eight characters are first-time nominees.
The character "sheng" (rise) was recognised as the best descriptor, with the organiser saying that "sheng" has dual meanings—one indicating economic advancement and the other reflecting the rising cost of living.
Han Culture Centre of Malaysia president Datuk Goh Hin San said this year's selection process received 209 nominations for 548 unique Hanzi characters.
"This shows that the public is very familiar with our voting rules. They carefully avoided selections from previous years and steered clear of obscure characters, instead choosing Hanzi that represent significant events in our country," Goh said during the press conference at Wisma Hua Zong on Sunday (Nov 3).
The official Hanzi website is open for voting to select the annual Hanzi character that encapsulates the major events and focus of our country in 2024 for 21 days from now until Nov 23.
The final result will be announced on Dec 15.
Last year, the character "guì", meaning "expensive" or "costly", was chosen as the 2023 Malaysian Hanzi of the Year due to the high inflation experienced in the country that year.
