having read through a blog belonging to a friend of mine, i am now left at my study, in a house in shah alam, in a state of outrage, frustration, and worst of all sadness.

the state of the country i reside in, the land i have grown to love, is in a desperate need for repair. my friend laments on his friend's misfortune at having failed to obtain a scholarship due to his birthright.. or lack thereof. i am sure that he, like many others i have heard of, is a smart, bright young individual who is often times let down by the fact that there is no equality in this country.

it is sad to note that this topic is often brought up during lunch hours, break periods, in between classes, and even in the workplace. discussions, and often heated debates on this matter would normally be reduced to a hushed whisper with the immediate sighting of a bumiputra. been there. done that. it is sad. but true.

bumiputra, derived from the sanskrit word literally meaning 'sons of the earth' is a term i find absolutely insulting.

the federal constitution of malaysia (in article something something) defines a Malay as a
i) Malaysian citizen

ii) born to a Malaysian citizen

iii) who professes to be a Muslim,

iv) habitually speaks the Malay language,

v) adheres to Malay customs,

vi) and is domiciled in Malaysia or Singapore.

codswallop.

not that i feel left out for not being included as a bumiputra, but the very definition that the constitution chooses to classify us malays is as i said, codswallop.
on my little pink singapore identification card, as well as my red passport, is stamped the word 'malay' next to 'race'.

anthropologists would agree with me that there is no single pure race of malay in this world. our blood runs the same as that in indonesians, and even polynesians some may say.

it fascinates people- i do not know why, to know that i am of mixed parentage. my paternal grandparents are 'malay', most likely from sumatra/java from the looks of it (their features give it away), my maternal grandmother was chinese; she married a bugis. what is a bugis, you ask? at first sight, you would brand him a malay in a hearbeat. as would anybody, when they look at my 'indian' cousin who looks even more malay than i do.

the thing about singapore is that it recognises your race, they really care to know to what group of people in this world you belong. so, in my family of seemingly pure blooded malays, there would be a javanese aunt, an indian cousin, a boyan (bet you've never heard that before) third cousin twice removed, a baba uncle, and those too-messy-to-be-classified malays.
a word of advice, do not think of poking fun at the javanese ppl of singapore. most of them are fiercely proud to be javanese, and not malay.

before i get too carried away, what i am trying to say is that the Malaysian definition for who a Melayu is, is very inaccurate, and ridiculous. and to drag islam into this is even more ridiculous. (malays were originally pagans, then hindhus before the coming of Islam.)

and...

often you get these Mats and Minahs who are Melayu to the core, but would shy away at the very mention of religion. then theres the new generation of Melayu who are oblivious to the customs of the Malays to even think of adhering to it.
are they still Melayu...?

such hypocrisy i cannot take.

i do not know what somebody's first impression of me would be upon seeing me. i have been told many times that because i dont wear a hijab over my head and that i am often seen in the company of those who are not Malay, that i am one of them stuck up Malays.

i love this country. i really do. but something's got to give.