KUCHING: Doa reciter Suhaimi Mohamad captured the attention of delegates when he said the prayer in nine languages at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Convention here.
The Bukit Kota PBB deputy youth chief recited the doa in Arabic, Malay, English, Iban, Melanau, Bisaya, Lun Bawang, Bidayuh and Mandarin at the opening of the Youth and Women's wings' general assemblies on Friday (Feb 14).
He received a warm round of applause from the delegates of various backgrounds at the end of the prayer recital.
Suhaimi, 37, said it took him about a month to practise the different languages, especially Mandarin which he found challenging due to the difference between the spelling and pronunciation.
"I learned Mandarin from my Chinese friends and local business owners.
"Since this is for a formal doa recital, I asked them to make sure that my pronunciation is accurate," he said.
For the other local languages like Iban and Bisaya, he also practised with native speakers to get it right.
"Lun Bawang was easier because I'm used to hearing it when I interact with the community," he added.
Suhaimi said it was his own initiative to recite the doa in nine languages to reflect Sarawak's diversity.
"We all know that Sarawak is multilingual. There are many ethnic groups but I only managed to learn nine languages in the time that I had.
"Moreover there are Muslims from other races, including the Chinese and Iban.
"When they hear the doa in their own languages, they feel appreciated," he said.
