the banana people

The banana people*

They will feel at a loss

The local dialects they learned

One day it will be gone

The North through the South

The banana people will be left behind

In the daily conversation once they could sing along

Now they will find the language barrier in their lives

The young ones are schooled in Mandarin

The parents will teach them to speak in it

The local dialects will be ignored

Mandarin will be the language at homes

The parents think of the rising Bamboo Dragon

Spreading its wings in the economy of the world

The flourishing economy in Bamboo Dragon

The attraction to woo the seekers and adventurers

So, the banana people

In the local clan communities

They will feel at a loss

They will listen to the Mandarin words

Here, we can still converse in Bahasa Malaysia

The Mandarin speaking people have to know too

This language will bridge the gap for the local dialects

When the banana people walk the shops and hawker stalls

* people who can't speak Mandarin but local dialects