Well written - a good review of Chinese nastiness.
The writer speaks Cantonese, which is commonly learned as a youngster. Bahasa is the formal version of Malay, Mandarin is the “Queen’s Chinese” and English is, well, the language of trade and aircraft.
Quite a novel path that he has chosen to learn.
And if he did indeed grow up in Hong Kong, I suspect that he will be well versed in backroom dealings of the mandarins.