So that's what it means in Manglish

Kuala Lumpur - An academic is suing a columnist who called him a "drama queen", claiming that in Malaysia's version of English known as "Manglish" the term is a homosexual slur, a report said on Thursday.

Retired lecturer Edward Dorall told a court in Penang state that columnist Thor Kah Hoong had libelled him by calling him a "drama queen lecturer" in a 2004 article, the New Straits Times reported.

Thor said he had no malicious intent and that Dorall had deliberately misinterpreted the word "queen", which on its own is a slang reference to a homosexual man, particularly one who acts in a flamboyant manner.

He called as a witness British Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Jonathan Kent, who caused mirth in the courtroom by saying that Dorall's lawyer was himself acting like a drama queen - someone who overreacts to a minor problem.

Kent testified as to the Oxford Dictionary's definition of "drama queen" as an overly dramatic person, and said he was well aware of Malaysian English, having worked in the country for several years.

"I definitely would not sue someone for calling me a drama queen, even if it was done in public," he was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times. - Sapa-AFP