LEARNING Bahasa Malaysia is the one thing Khalid Alvi intends to do before returning to his home country in Pakistan.

“If I leave now and look back, I will definitely feel guilty about not having learnt the language formally,” he said.

Khalid, who has been living in Malaysia since 2006, can speak only a few words of Bahasa, which he picked up from conversations.

Although he and his wife have always wanted to learn the language, he just could not find the time to attend classes.

“Being able to speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia will help us communicate better with Malaysians,” said the managing director of F&N Beverages Sdn Bhd.

However, he added, language was never a problem as many Malaysians spoke fluent English.

“This helped us settle down quite quickly and blend in. The multi-racial factor is also an attraction,” Khalid said, adding that Malaysians in general were friendly and helpful.

“We had no friends when we first moved here but now, we have a network of friends,” he said.

The wide range of food available and diverse cultures are the other factors that Khalid enjoys about Malaysia.

Khalid, who lives in Mont Kiara, said his children considered Malaysia their home more than Pakistan.

His youngest son was only a year old when the family moved to Malaysia. Khalid also has two other sons, aged 17 and 12.

Khalid has lived out of Pakistan for a major part of his life.

He attended pre-school in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, spent his early childhood in Istanbul, Turkey and completed his elementary, junior and high school years in the United States.

He later returned to Pakistan to complete his higher studies before he started working there.

Having been pretty much around the globe, Khalid finds nothing near as fascinating as Malaysians and their ability to live in harmony despite their diverse cultures.

The music lover also enjoys watching local theatre productions, although his lack of proficiency in Bahasa limits his choices.

In terms of food, Khalid enjoys South Indian cuisine and some of the local fare at mamak stalls, which he often patronises with his family.

Among the places he likes visiting are the shopping centres, water parks and Petronas Twin Towers, in addition to the beautiful beaches in Penang, Langkawi and Port Dickson.

“For my family, Malaysia is our home away from home,” he said.