MALAYSIANS on Dec. 25 picked the word “gai” or “change” in English as the Chinese character that best represents 2012.

    Organizers said 5,000 people had taken part in the second annual poll to select the character as “change” made the cut by winning 19. 4 percent of the votes. “Xuan” (choice), “luan” (mess) and “zheng” (tussle) were among the characters that made it to the top 10. “The word (change) can mean the global climate. It can also mean the global developments, the responses that were triggered by the sociopolitical happenings domestically, the people’s experience in thoughts and life generally throughout the year and their aspiration and attitude towards the future,” said Pheng Yin Wah, president of the Federation of Chinese Associations in Malaysia.

    Besides Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore are among the seven countries that hold similar character polls each year.

    Japan chose Kanji character “kane,” which means “gold,” for 2012; while Singapore, “se” or “color.”

    The Japanese organizer said the character “kane” is highly symbolic of this year’s central topics, such as the winning of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, a total of 38 medals acquired by athletes at the London Olympic Games and an annular solar eclipse observed in May. (Xinhua)