sAbrina ([info]obi_meowz) wrote in [info]malaysians,
@ 2006-02-28 15:45:00
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Current mood: annoyed
Current music:High ~ James Blunt

Why do I get this all the time?! Dang.

I went Breakers to play pool the other night, with a Malay friend.

Me: Oi, it's your turn-lah bangang! Kau dah mabuk ke? (thick Malay accent)
My Friend: Ooops sorry.
By-stander (Malay) : Er awak Melayu?
Me: Separuh Melayu bang, mak saya Cina, ayah saya Melayu.
BS: Islam-lah? Bagus.
Me: .........

I went to renew my IC last year. After an hour of waiting, finally...

Government Officer: Lu mau buat ke tak mau? Cepat sikit-lah! (Cock-face, obviously despises Chinese)
Me: Sorry bang. Kaki sakit-lah, duduk lama sangat.

After showing my documents,

GO: Oh awak Melayu rupanya. (Big smile on his face) Cakap-lah awal-awal.
Me: Saya separuh je Melayu bang. Mak saya Cina.
GO: Takpe, asalkan Islam.
Me: .........

Back in high school [an SMK],
Ustazah: Sabrina, awak kan Melayu, kenapa awak selalu berkawan dengan ramai sangat Cina?
Me: Kenapa tak boleh pulak?
Ustazah: Nanti awak jadi murtad! Minda awak akan terpesong.
Me: .........

Back in primary school [an SRJK(C)],
Me: How do I solve this math question, Madam T**?
Madam T**: So easy also you dunno ar? I think its because you're Malay!
Me: .........

Sigh. 

 


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[info]eleraine
2006-02-28 07:57 am UTC (link)
And I thought I had it bad when people often mistook me for a local wherever I was, be it Europe or Thailand/Vietnam/Singapore.

(Reply to this)


[info]aput83
2006-02-28 08:47 am UTC (link)
ugh....had a few of those....

1. Road block...i think I posted this somewhere already...

2. Walking into a mosque...yes, a mosque!!

3. Saw it happen to a Chinese guy while doing my MyKad..the clerk was berating this guy about his incapability to speak fluent Malay...felt really sorry for the guy..

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dustyhawk
2006-02-28 09:05 am UTC (link)
ahh..... hmm.. heh, for me ..it's being half hand-cuffed during the month of ramadhan.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
(no subject) - [info]sushiteapup, 2006-02-28 10:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]aput83, 2006-02-28 12:05 pm UTC

[info]divabat
2006-02-28 09:10 am UTC (link)
............................

reminds me of the conversations I'd have when I was younger. No one seemed to believe that I was Bangladeshi (not Malay, not half-Anything, not Indian) and for some reason they had this Muslims = Malay complex.

that whole "oh, baguslah yang you Islam" thing is just as stupid.

(Reply to this)


[info]mcbealism
2006-02-28 09:26 am UTC (link)
My goodness, I appalled at the amount of racial prejudices you have so far experienced, and it does seem like a lot. I suppose being half Chinese and half Malay entitles you to witness the "two-faced" nature of our society more than usual.

(Reply to this)


[info]himehikari
2006-02-28 09:31 am UTC (link)
I'm half Malay and half Chinese as well, however, thankfully I've never encounter those sorts of comments.

Racism is just plain unintellectual. However, religion is something that we need to have high respect on (am a proud Muslim myself).

It's never stated in the Al-Quran that Muslims can't mix with people from other religion, in fact, Islam encourages harmonious interaction between religions.

Back in high school [an SMK],
Ustazah: Sabrina, awak kan Melayu, kenapa awak selalu berkawan dengan ramai sangat Cina?
Me: Kenapa tak boleh pulak?
Ustazah: Nanti awak jadi murtad! Minda awak akan terpesong.
Me: .........

that was plain ******. I'm sorry to say this, but maybe the person saying that does not really understand Islam as the way of life, not confined to race, country or culture.

and sorry for my excessive rantings.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]obi_meowz
2006-02-28 09:42 am UTC (link)
Hey no worries, I know that was really plain bullshit man, for an Ustazah to say that. In fact, most of the teachers in my high school was pretty much like that, ie racist. To them, having one too many friends from other races will make you a bad person. I really dunno why.

Oh ya one of the funniest things that happened was when I had a Chinese boyfriend during high school and the Ustazah actually said to me, "Baguslah macam tu, bolehlah awak suruh dia masuk Islam jugak ya?"

What the hell?!

(Reply to this) (Parent)
(no subject) - [info]izyclover, 2006-02-28 11:36 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]obi_meowz, 2006-02-28 01:00 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]izyclover, 2006-03-03 04:39 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]aput83, 2006-03-01 06:25 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]izyclover, 2006-03-03 04:50 pm UTC

[info]cryogenesis
2006-02-28 10:11 am UTC (link)
I wonder how the Germans differenciate between the Jews and non-Jews....I mean don't they all look the same? May be they should make non-Muslim-Malay wear an emblem or something...save them all the trouble

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]yiliang
2006-02-28 02:27 pm UTC (link)
The Nazis made the Jews wear a yellow Star of David badge.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]buttshak3r
2006-02-28 10:33 am UTC (link)
on a totally unrelated note;

madam tan?

gee, you made that too easy.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]obi_meowz
2006-02-28 11:04 am UTC (link)
Well obviously! Anyways it could have been Tee, Toh or even Ten. LMAO.

Whatever man.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2006-02-28 01:31 pm UTC

[info]inbam
2006-02-28 11:15 am UTC (link)
hahahahahahahahaha

(Reply to this)


[info]theorydawn
2006-02-28 12:07 pm UTC (link)
palui!!!! i hate that kind of people.
funny funny!!

(Reply to this)


[info]_kagekiyo_
2006-02-28 12:28 pm UTC (link)
Okays.......

(Reply to this)


[info]yiliang
2006-02-28 02:28 pm UTC (link)
Truly scary...what's next, I wonder.

(Reply to this)


[info]c1ku
2006-02-28 03:00 pm UTC (link)
what ever happened to "fight for your rights?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]obi_meowz
2006-03-01 01:35 am UTC (link)
Trust me ~ NO f*ckin POINT.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]alexithyme
2006-02-28 03:15 pm UTC (link)
i've encountered a good number of nonsense like those (your dialogues above)
since day one til today i react the same way
ignore them
disregard them

people like that grow up with a certain disposition
something that's set in like dried concrete
i've tried talking sense to "them"
believe me i have
and believe me, it's a waste of time

i'd rather focus on "neo-bumis" who are more open
not necessarily liberal in the conventional sense,
but those with a semblance of some common sense and an open mind
why waste time over shallow idiots who don't know half of what they're preaching about?

"the only sin in this world is stupidity" - wilde.

(Reply to this)


[info]morpheuse
2006-02-28 03:48 pm UTC (link)
all i get is "wei lengchai, ham tai new movie mou tuck teng ah! yan to yan mei kwok yan ho to yan! everything oso got! very cheng!"

Translation: Wei brader ada dvd biru baru lar semua ada - clear giler mau tak?" =P

or maybe i just hang out with the wrong crowd.

but i oh so like to break stereotypes. when i get mistaken for a chinese i speak malay when i get mistaken for malay i speak chinese. or when they expect me to be lazy like a stereotypical malay i work harder than most chinese in the company. or when they think im an uneducated ah beng i tell them in perfect english i read bukowsky. its fun. =P

my own little way of educating these ppl

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]jeszika
2006-03-01 12:31 am UTC (link)
i think you meant to spell.... BUKOWSKI.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]morpheuse, 2006-03-01 09:28 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]obi_meowz, 2006-03-01 01:40 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]morpheuse, 2006-03-01 09:37 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]kungfutofu, 2006-03-01 02:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]morpheuse, 2006-03-01 09:38 am UTC

[info]creepinthesea
2006-02-28 10:56 pm UTC (link)
hahahahhaha..kewl kewl...ive been through this once..

ustazah:
kamu jgn kawan sangat dengan budak2 lain bangsa tu..diorang kapir..kang kamu terpengaruh dgn mereka semua buat benda bukan2..

i was like what?..sometimes i think most of the ustazah and ustaz are freaks..

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]obi_meowz
2006-03-01 01:41 am UTC (link)
LMAO!!! They are so freaky man, I so have to agree with that.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]nsrawther
2006-02-28 11:21 pm UTC (link)
It's a pity that our educators are like this.

No such encounters as that for me, Alhamdulillah. Just big smiles all around and acting like I don't have a clue about anything sometimes can help A LOT :D

(Reply to this)


[info]pixieditz
2006-03-01 01:32 am UTC (link)
teruknya. but not uncommon in malaysia, unfortunately.

imagine having a malay-mamak grandpa, a catholic dutch-portuguese granny from my mom's side, and a chinese dad. they're not allowing my mom to get her MyKad with her Catholic name because of my grandpa's name, even though she has legally changed it. and in such a mixed household, other than learning Malay at school, I just always spoke english...so I never got around to picking up much chinese.

personally i despise getting into cabs and getting scolded for looking chinese but speaking english well. either that or just because i speak english to them, they think i'm a foreigner and try to con me by saying up front that the rides are fixed at "fifteen malaysian dollars". argh.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]fantasyecho
2006-03-02 04:54 pm UTC (link)
How weird. I never really get that from cab drivers. But I find that speaking pidgin English/Malay works a lot. Sometimes you get lucky, and the cab drivers are just chatty.

I met a cab driver who was Malay and did his best to speak English. He expounded his views on education and politics and culture and he sounded cool. He charged me RM11 (it was a loooong ride) and I handed him RM15 and told him to keep it all in exchange for the great conversation.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]li_ann
2006-03-01 03:34 am UTC (link)
ouch...we still have a long way to go before reaching racial integration...

(Reply to this)


[info]blinkblankblonk
2006-03-01 03:44 am UTC (link)
Rock on Malaysia. This is the Bolehland.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]obi_meowz
2006-03-01 03:48 am UTC (link)
Tjer! Sarcastic as always. :D

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Moving forward? Nah.
(Anonymous)
2006-03-01 04:14 am UTC (link)
Weren't we all suppose to be of one united race being 'Malaysian'? Wasn't that what the National Unity Department was preaching about during the Merdeka-month when Unity fever was the 'in' thing for officials to talk about?

Yet, people are subjected to racial discrimination because they aren't of the majority. How does the country plan to move forward when some of it's citizens are given better treatment just cuz 'Oh awak Melayu rupanya?, Takpe asalkan Islam'???

Sorry, these kind of things just makes my blood boil. The most blaring part of it is that everyone knows this goes on but yet a picture of perfect harmony is painted for the outside world.

Where do we go from here? Anyone? Sigh

(Reply to this)


[info]carm3nsandi3go
2006-03-01 05:43 am UTC (link)
malaysia boleh? yeah right.

i'm from sabah and the only reason i'm treated okay there is because i'm half kadazandusun, which qualifies me as 'bumiputera'.

i loved growing up in malaysia but at the same time, i'm so glad i fucking left the country.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]stupe
2006-03-01 06:35 am UTC (link)
carmen, but malaysia IS a good place, no?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]carm3nsandi3go, 2006-03-02 08:29 pm UTC

[info]stupe
2006-03-01 06:35 am UTC (link)
i do get that as well...they treat me very nicely (they as in the authority la) until they see my IC, then it's a complete 180 change...

more often than not, they get confused when i speak and write better malay than them...like when i write police report where the police woman keep looking at me as she type my report into her pC....

or how sometimes i get stopped during puasa month for eating at mamak...just because i eat with my hands.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]obi_meowz
2006-03-01 07:27 am UTC (link)
Oh God, just because you were eating with hands?! WTF? Let me guess, you were having Banana Leaf Rice? If so, that's the only way to eat it man! You lose the shiokness if you were to eat it with fork and spoon.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]stupe, 2006-03-01 07:54 am UTC

[info]fayenatic
2006-03-01 06:57 am UTC (link)
Its one of those things you see each day of daily Malaysian life. Racism is always around us; the movie Crash explains this full frontal and no holds barred.

I remember last time me and a group of friends went yum-cha in Sri Petaling one night. It was close to 12am. There was a police road block on one of the main roads. Usually you'll get by without being stopped but ooohhh ours just HAD to be picked.

So we did the usuals, got out and showed our IC's. Except that one of our friends; a girl didn't bring her wallet. So she was ushered over to the waiting peno-van (those vans you use to detain suspects).

Not wanting my friend to spend the entire night in a lockup; I went over to the officer in charge. I spoke to the officer mostly in English with some malay thrown in, asking has she done anything wrong. And this young police un on the sidelines interjected my queries and said to me,

"Eh tolong cakap dalam bahasa Melayu lah oi".
(Can you please speak in Malay?)

I looked at him and went back to asking the officer.

But the thing that suprised me is when another friend (who drove the car) he pulled me back slowly and whispered to me "I'll handle the situation". So he spoke to the officer in the colloquail malay with chinese accented slangs

"So pak, ini saya punya kawan hanya hari ini saja dia tak bawak IC. So boleh lah jangan bawak dia ke balai ya?"

(Please sir, its only today that my friend did not bring her ID card along. So please lets not take her to the police station for this)

then my friend he slipped a little 'something' into the officers hands. The man nodded his head once, turned and walked around to the girl waiting in the van and told her promptly;

"Lain kali ye, jangan lupa bawak IC bila keluar arr"
(Don't forget to bring your ID card next time when you go out)

So it appeared that this officer needed some 'shoe shining' and also some bribery to make his judgement sway. But if not for my friend who spoke in that accented malay then probably we'd all be at the police station.

Has it come down to this? That we have to change our accents and mannerisms to deal with certain people? I feel that its plain arrogance that the young police guy showed when he interjected me in the middle of my queries.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]stupe
2006-03-01 07:58 am UTC (link)
it is an offence not to be carrying your IC when you do go out. They have every right to detain your friend.

Well, i wouldn't had buckle in and gave those cash as i might get into trouble as well, if the officer in charge of the block decided to apprehend me for attempting to bribe him.

she won't spend the night in lock up, what needs to be done is someone go back and get her IC and show it at the balai, or if the home is near enough, rush back to get her IC and everything will be sorted.

so, again, not all police are bad hats, it's PR at work, the small kuci most probably wanted to shoe shine his officer by asking you to speak in BM. I won't put myself so low as to speak in BM with chinese slang just to show that i kow tow to them, i'll speak in proper BM and chances are, they will be shy with their own mannerism.

just my 2 sen worth.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]obi_meowz, 2006-03-01 08:21 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]stupe, 2006-03-01 08:28 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]fayenatic, 2006-03-01 09:01 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]stupe, 2006-03-01 09:17 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]fayenatic, 2006-03-01 09:38 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]obi_meowz, 2006-03-01 08:13 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]nsrawther, 2006-03-01 08:19 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]obi_meowz, 2006-03-01 08:23 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]fayenatic, 2006-03-01 09:04 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]stupe, 2006-03-01 08:32 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]kungfutofu, 2006-03-01 10:11 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]_____j_____, 2006-03-01 12:35 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]_____j_____, 2006-03-01 12:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]obi_meowz, 2006-03-01 02:36 pm UTC

[info]chobitschii
2006-03-02 01:44 am UTC (link)
Back in high school [an SMK],
Ustazah: Sabrina, awak kan Melayu, kenapa awak selalu berkawan dengan ramai sangat Cina?
Me: Kenapa tak boleh pulak?
Ustazah: Nanti awak jadi murtad! Minda awak akan terpesong.
Me: .........

She actually said that?She needs a large dose of reality check.Nobody's mind is going to be terpesong by befriending someone who is different race and religion.I have a lot of Chinese friends(I'm Malay) and I find it easier to communicate with them.At least I didn't get that at school.Seriously,that ustazah needs to get out more.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]obi_meowz
2006-03-02 02:19 am UTC (link)
Yeah man, she did actually say that. How shocking and pathetic that was eh? *shaking head*

Actually there were more you know... Maybe I should post a new entry and get comments from you guys.

=)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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