Prince Mateen of Brunei’s Malay accent sparks social media debate

Prince Mateen of Brunei. Photo from Prince Mateen's Instagram

According to Malaysian news outlet Hype, the speech was delivered on Oct. 9 for the International Day Against Illegal Drugs Abuse and Distribution 2024. It was broadcast at the Indera Samudra Grand Hall of The Empire Brunei. The royal’s message aimed to raise awareness about the dangers of substance abuse.

The TikTok video reposting the speech has garnered 1.2 million views as of Oct. 14. In the comment section, some viewers praised both his appearance and the content of his message, while others focused on his pronunciation and accent.

"This is amazing, using the right person to influence others and raise awareness," one user commented. "Well done Prince Mateen."

"Me doing the presentation that I didn't prepare for," another joked.

Many Malaysian netizens also took to Twitter to discuss the prince’s speech, with some noting that he seemed to struggle with intonation and timing when speaking Malay. His accent was described as awkward by a few.

Some suggested he should have been allowed to deliver the speech in a language he was more comfortable with, or perhaps in his native Kedayan dialect, a variation of the Brunei-Malay language.

Prince Mateen, 33, is the 10th child and fourth son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei. He was granted honorary membership in the Special Forces Regiment in 2019 and promoted to the rank of Major in 2021. He also represented Brunei in polo at the 2017 and 2019 SEA Games.