Friday, August 05, 2005

We are not Malays, so why do we call ourselves a MALAYsian

I've got lots of 2 cents here and there, might just get rich on that, one day!
Here is my 2 cents about us, Malaysian Chinese. We Belong NOWHERE!

I remember back when I was 14 years old, I was working with some HongKies in NZ, they were always hasseling me about it, "If you are from Malaysia, and is a Malaysian then why can't we call you Malay? and have to call yourself Malaysian Chinese? You are not a chinese, because if you were to go to China, you will never be accept there!".

"So you are Malay." You won't believe how many times I have to correct them and the much complicated questions and answers that will take place after that statement. And in the end, they still don't get it. Sigh.. Hence I call myself "Chiwi". haha not Chines enoughht to be Chinese, not Kiwi enough to be Kiwi. My kids are Chiwis too..


So...Really, when it comes to being a Malaysian Chinese, we don't belong anywhere, We are and always will be 2nd grade citizen, doesn't matter where we go.. :) So might as well make the best of it huh?


What's worst then being Malaysian Chinese is being a Malaysian Chinese Woman. It's like being 2nd grade of the 2nd grades! You Un (UNderstand)?

My Hubby says that I am no 2nd class citizen to him! And he would go beat up whoever that says that I am! Awww... such loving husband, either that or he just wanna beat ppl up! heheheh

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem is that we never consider ourselves as just "Malaysian" or when we do that, foreigners will ask, r u malay chinese or indian. Malaysi from an is nationality, Chinese is ethnicity. and of course Malaysian Chinese is different Mainland Chinese. Be proud of being both (Malaysian, and a Chinese ethnic).

Chiwi said...

Funnily, most foreigners I know wouldn't know the difference, so.. if I were to say I'm a Malaysian, they would Automatically say, so you are a "Malay", then I would have to explain that by law we cannot call ourself 'Malay'.... etc,etc... only those foreigners that have been to this part of the world or have Malaysia friends would know the difference, coz they have been corrected b4! hahaha

Anonymous said...

It's politics. the Malaysian Chinese was labelled '2nd class citizen' by Lee Kuan Yew. Just as the Singaporean Malays. But economically Chinese in Malaysia are not (2nd class) because they worked hard to survive. And working hard is what make them successful. Speaking from a Malay point of view, yeah maybe we need some 'protection' coz we r so far behind the Chinese in terms of economy. But looking from another point of view, too many comforts make us cripple, unable to stand on our own feet. I'm working in an MNC with more non-Malay colleagues and I have to go thru what they are going thru. It's tough but it's good for me.

I have a Chinese aunt who has to wear baju kurung on hari raya and follow Malay customs in some family events. she is closer to my mom compared to my other aunts because we never tried to change her to become a Malay, she's muslim and Chinese. there is no question about her being first class or second class, we don't believe in caste system. it's only the game of sick politicians who tried to gain support by the people manipulating racial issues, remember Pauline Hanson? She hates Asian (mostly Chinese) immigrants because she feel threatened by them. When I was living with some Turks, I also hated it when they tried to make me a Turk. It's not easy to forget our root but we already forget one thing that is, we r actual our actual root. But if everything was uniform, life would be dull.

I have a Chinese look that even Malay ppl think I'm Chinese. For me, it's like a blessing, easy for me to make friends with both Chinese and Malay ppl. Many foreign friends of mine asked me, "are u Chinese?" and I just said, "Also can-lah".

When I go to Chinese shops, they speak Chinese to me and all I could do was smiling and say 'Wo bu shuo Huayu'. It's a shame for me actually coz I speak a little Turkish even though I never went there but I have lived with Chinese people for 27 years, have a Chinese aunt (and look), learned Mandarin for one year and still cannot speak it well!

Anonymous said...

... we r all from the same species, that's our actual root... we may have different belief in this but as a Muslim, I believe that everybody is the child of Adam and Eve... u and me... we r sibling, u know?