KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — Rhys William, 25, first came to Malaysia as a tourist back in 2012.
Today, he calls the country home and what is more, he speaks Malay fluently.
In fact, his flair for the language — which he learned on his own — has led him to a new career. William first became popular when he hosted a food programme, in which he spoke in Malay, and introduced viewers to the best nasi lemak eatery in Kampung Baru.
Mat Salleh Cari Makan di KL, produced by Destinasi TV, became an instant hit, turning William into an overnight celebrity.
Now, the young Briton from Redhill in Surrey is also being sought after for television hosting jobs.
So how did he end up living here?
William came for a two-week holiday but felt like there was much more to see so he returned the next year.
“I actually decided to just move here and try living here to see what it would be like,” he told Malay Mail Online.
“I actually stayed for two months first as a test just to see if it would work out you know, and after two months, I took another two months and I have been here since,” he added.
It was only after his second Christmas in Malaysia that his family realised he was serious about staying in Malaysia and “so they accepted it.”
As for speaking Malay, he mixed with the locals and “learnt a little bit from speaking with friends.”
To practise, he started a blog where he chronicled his new life… and it was in Malay.
”At first the blog was really bad because you know, me having just learnt the language.
“Maybe after one year of writing my blog, someone shared one post on Facebook and it went viral. Lots of people read it and encouraged me to keep writing and from there on, I also started doing videos,” William said.
Using his cellphone, William did short videos in Malay and uploaded them onto Facebook. He did this for almost two years and also bought books to hone his grasp of the language.
Not satisfied with being able to just speak the language, William also picked up local colloquial terms and lingo to sound like a true native speaker.
How do people react to his fluency?
“There are three different reactions. The first one is people recognise me because of the videos or heard me over the radio. So they already expected my flair with the language and it’s normal.
“The second types are those who are pretty shocked and the third group just speak to me in English because they aren’t sure if I really understand.
“Looking back, I did an interview with Malaysia Hari Ini (MHI). That was only a year ago, but looking back I sounded too posh because I still had my English accent. But from then on till now, it took me about a year to pick up the local accent,” he said, laughing.
Stand-up comedian or food show host?
Despite being flooded with offers, William continues to work with his crew at Destinasi TV, producing instant hit videos.
His reasons? Television production takes too much time.
Also, despite having done one comedy show with Astro, William is not planning on becoming a funnyman as he loves his gastronomic adventures too much.
“Television takes too long. That’s why the Destinasi TV guys and I thought, let’s just do the videos on Facebook as we can do them whenever we want,” he added.
William said it was also a strategic move to gain a bigger audience, as Malaysians are mostly hooked to their phones more than they are glued to their televisions.
“I just don’t want to do anything, anywhere because if I do that I get the feeling I would be trying too hard to get famous, you know? So I want to do what I like which is eating! Even if the Destinasi TV video only has 10 views, I would have still liked it because the crew and I got to do what we love! For me it’s the passion,” he added.
Destinasi TV’s Facebook page is flooded with netizens requesting William and his crew to visit their respective places to try out famous dishes there.
“We are going to try and find food from every state that is available here in Kuala Lumpur. And for future videos, we may go to Singapore to try their cuisine.
“In the beginning, the recommendations we got were mostly Malay places. But now, we’ve got many recommendations for other cuisines,” he added.
William really has his heart set on Malaysia. Or in his own words: Hati saya di sini.
“Once I am here for five years, I want to apply for PR,” he said, referring to permanent residency status.
“If ada rezeki (God willing) I’d like to maybe start my own business here doing website designs since that is my forte. But website designing is my work, while my passion is definitely culture and food.
“So who knows. If these videos go wild again, I might just focus on that,” he added.
