the tummy is acting up again. ouch.

I have been itching to write about this since forever.

About blogs, or personal articles written by Malays condemning their own race and foolishly labelling themselves as either a decadent race or a one that is in perpetual slumber. What I particularly find silly is that, I suppose author’s of such writings often do not realize that their work reflects more on themselves rather than the subject of their writing. It is a given that there ARE liberal nations/races out there who have teenagers flashing their tits on the internet, bombing innocent countries for oil, having sick serial killers or a large number of homeless on their streets and in their midst. Yet nobody NO ONE ever labels their race as that of a decadent one. So why are we so keen about doing so?

Writers of such articles often speak of the deragatory term used to refer to a certain group of Malays; the “Mats & Minahs”. What I often wonder after reading such writings is, what is the true definition behind the term “Mats & Minahs”? Who or how do we rightfully deem a person as being a mat or a minah? Bleached hair? Multiple piercings? Alcoholism? A liberal sexual lifestyle? If so, then I suppose quite a few of people I know (who may not be even Malays) with university degrees, fit the term pretty well.

Most of the time, such writings prey on merely the superficial & the stereotypes. That a “mat or minah” with the physical description as so will have a certain typical behaviour. What they fail to realize is that their descriptions are based on nothing more than stereotypes & superficial descriptions. I have met people with blond hair who do not drink. People who dress like “minahs” who make it a point to at least do their Subuh prayers before going to work. There are so called “mats” who avoid sleepovers because their parents do not approve of such activities. Ones with commendable work attitude and are able to work their way up, eventually bringing home a salary bigger than that of degree holders… and the list, goes on.

…

Probably, if I had not been yanked out from my very sheltered lifestyle when I was 14, and mixed with who people often termed as “mats & minahs” through dikir and the odd jobs I had to do to get myself through uni, I’d probably share the same mindset.

What is needed now is perhaps a little reflection before an unjust overgeneralization about our own race is made. Abdullah Munsyi wrote the way the did because he grew up during the colonial age, alongside the imperialists. Us? I suppose that colonial mentality they left us with, never left.