They mostly speak in mandarin but occassionally switch to Malay when addressing me. They all (including his mom and dad who are in their 60s and 70s respectively) can speak english but seems to prefer to speak in Malay with me. Of course their Malay was not the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka variety, but I'm ok with that. After all, my english is as bad as their Malay anyway. And my mandarin is zero, except for that wor ai ni bit.
Present was his second big uncle, who is the brother of his mom staying somewhere in KL. I always find him to be the least friendly towards me among his family members...second only to his dad. He told me that his dad was quite close with his ex, the super model looking Singaporean Chinese girl he dated for so many years. Maybe his dad is still getting use to the idea that he is now with a scruffy looking Malay. As for his second big uncle, I have no idea what was his problem with me.
So, it came as a surprise when second big uncle while at the dinner that night started a conversation with me. He asked me about my work, my family etc.
Then he started talking about the on going LRT project near his home.
"Itu project nampak cepat mau siap. Dulu mereka announce, sekejap terus buat. Sekarang government very fast, tak macam dulu. Dulu mereka announce hari ini, two hundred years baru mereka start buat. Lepas itu lagi six hundred years baru siap. Sometimes langsung tak buat pun mereka. Ini sekarang better la. Cakap mau buat, mesti kena buat. Baru orang kata government bagus."
Again I'm not sure if second big uncle was just trying to practice his very bad Malay with me or if he is genuinely trying to warm up to the idea that I may soon join the family. But my gut instinct was that he was happy with the way the LRT project was being carried out and he felt like telling the government that they are doing a good job on that one. So, the closest he could get was to tell me, a Malay, about it.
You see, his second big uncle, along with the rest of that generation of the family are of the very practical type. Despite their very traditional ways, they are more honest about matters such as race relations and dealing with the government. If the government do good for them, even if its a Malay-led government, theywill support it. That's why I'm advocating for the BN to focus on doing their job of serving the rakyat. They should just stop talking and concentrate on work if they want the support of not just the Chinese but the people as a whole. Do you really think the Chinese like Anwar Ibrahim's fiery speeches? Ok, I don't khow about the blindly idealistic young Chinese but the more mature among them are capable of rationally chosing which side of the political divide is good for the future of their community and the rest of the country.
As for the scums in BN, I'm sure Najib will clean them out once the rakyat have given him the mandate after general election. I'm quite certain about that. He got no choice as BN will never survive the next GE14 if he doesn't clean up house. I don't think he wants to be the last BN PM.
OK, by the way, at that dinner I shared his mom's vegetarian food. The rest of them were eating.....something funny...I rather not put the picture of that thng lah. This picture of a pizza is definitely not what they were eating. I put it here for decoration only.
Interesting enough that new MRT station in cheras in front of leisure mall started with the mall extension before the gov putting up the station construction. I'm glad that the mall actually kerjasama with gov on this matter. Btw Chinese vegetarian cuisine not bad ah :)
ReplyDeleteOrdinary malaysian
If you are planning to come to Taiwan, it's not easy to get halal food and you may accidently eat 'funny stuff' without knowing, happened to some of my friends, so better be prepared.
ReplyDeleteOne advice, go cycling by the river banks in Taipei, it is lovely, I am gonna miss it so much.
As a Malay boy in the 70's, growing up along the border with Thailand, I have never felt 'jijik' towards 'babi'. We use to live amongst Siamese whose homes can hardly be differentiated with ours, if there are no pigs sleeping under it. In those days, the Siamese use to rear pigs like the Malays rear goats. If we want to play in the river, we first have to check upstream that there are no pigs in the waters.
ReplyDeleteRD
maybe bcos you were not made aware by not too religious folks as is the case with many of us during those days. Just saying.
DeleteWhen I say 'jijik', it's a feeling, about to throw up. Some people cannot even walk pass a pork seller. To me, if you come into contact with a dry spot on a pig you don't have to cleanse that spot.
DeleteI guess that is why, the toilets in Japan, for example, are always dry and clean.
'Religious folks' is just in the minds, not in the hearts.
RD
jijik ke tidak kalo hati dah suka, semua pon indah......takut bila dah tak suka lagi besuk...hemm . Minta maaf ye , just curious, masa kissing pula camno, you know knowing that tongue did enjoy the funny stuff :)
ReplyDeleteErrr...kami shake hands saja :-)
Deletebaik anak mak but you're only in Fasa 1 belum hot2 lagi.Plot thickens.
DeleteKuching Besar, lu ada tanye itu Cina komunis ada masuk keluarga tu ? Sangat bahaya, nanti masuk keluarga yang ada member komunis....
ReplyDeleteSekarang tak laku lah, jadi komunis. Budak cina pun tak tahu siapa Chin Peng tapi mungkin ada seorang komunis dari Kazakhstan yang telah masuk ke keluarga terkenal di Malaysia.
DeleteKomunis sudah tarak relevent lagi -taken over by super-duper greedy capitalist hogs whether in corporate world or gomen lah. Ideals all about having more $$$ for oneself and 7 generasis while screwing others. From kandang kerbau we go into the sarang tikus gemuk :((
Deletesekarang apek-apek DAP dan PKR macam tian chua yang dulu berjuang untuk rakyat (hypocrite) with communist idealogy pun tarak fikir pasal rakyat lagi maa , sekarang naik kete mewah siap ada driver, projek manyak masukk lorr , nanti dah miskin balik baru berjuang dengan idealogy komunis laa konon untuk rakyat bawahan (mestilaa tipu punya kaki maa)
DeleteHaving a chinese nenek i am used to that a little things chinese ways. My mumunderstand chinese but never teach me that language. i did ask her why, she told meshe learn on her own. Nenek said if you want to learn chinese do it yourself. Why, because we no longer in China but in Malaysia or at that time Tanah melayu or Malaya. My nenek is prond of her race but at same time respect her adoptive country and adapt the way of life her in malasyia .......but by learning malay and the culture and the same time remind us our roots or half roots.
ReplyDeletethat's a shame , you could be trilingual now. Always an advantage to know more languages, enriches one culturally and intellectually being able to see from many points of view and philosophy.
DeleteSpoon feed once wants to spoonfeed second time. Next time wanted a tongkat? Tanah Melayu is only in Malaya. DUMNO wants to extend Tanah Melayu to Sarwarak and Sabah???? Mederka day is to Malaya only but Malaysia Day is to include Sabah and Sarwarak. Speaking another language dioes not means one is disloyal. Many in China, Sinkapore, Indonesia, Philippines can speak better English than orang Malaysia. Yingluck PM of Thailand speaks orang putih and it does not means she loves western ways more than Thai. Now in Thai land, more are learning Chinese as many river boats from China are trading with Thailand using Mekong River. We are still in the kampongs.
Deleteaiyoo anon 20.26 you ever go those country kaaa , not many laa just some , in the same time they can adopt their lifestyle and mingle with local in cultural and religiously .
DeleteIn malaysia you can talk other language but cannot speak bahasa malaysia soo shame laa , speak about Malaysian but still proud with they origin country soo hipokrit !!! and mostly soo hatred to Islam and Malay like DAP . They even dont want non-chinese teachers to teach their children .
This is not including with normal people like in bigcats story , they just want to living with peacefully and do not complaining about Azan 5 times a day or any religious activities ,its the stupid politician laa , even Merdeka on Ogos or September want make it big and create disunity and disharmony among Malaysian . see how this stupid want to spark an hatred with semenanjung and borneo
maybe i am not partisan so i dont see any worng about the sway the goverenment handling the Merdeka day...and i think they are so many people like me....so ther is another public holday that is good and planing ways spenfing previous hours with close friends or family.
DeleteI dont see waht is so wrong unless so you are a politicion or sick in mind.
The people of Alaska & Hawaii swear allegiance to the US on 3 January 1959 & 21 August 1959, respectively. They do not demand for a different Merdeka Day. Wonder why? Do they feel being safe under Uncle Sam, then. Today in Hawaii, a minority of its native would like to split, if given a chance.
DeleteMaybe in 1963, Sabah & Sarawak opted to be with Sovereign British Malaya rather being annexed into Philippine or Indonesia.
Well, if given the option, the people living along the border with Thailand would love the idea of celebrating the day, the Siamese surrender its reign back to Malaysia, except Pattani, Yala & Narathiwat.
RD
I agree totally what you say.If the government want the people to support it, it should do more things to improve the people's life.It should show the people they are a performing government with good governance..But alas..the present government is spending too much time looking into the beds of opposition leaders from screwing backsides to sex videotapes to rainbow watching..All these are just a waste of time.What we want is for the betterment of the people.
ReplyDeleteDoesnt it impresses one and is refreshing when you go down to Indonesia and hear everyone speaking the bahasa fluently. Cant tell who is who and everybody certainly look/act a lot happier. Gives one w some sort of a feeling of unity in a relaxed kind of way.
ReplyDeleteThat is in Indonesia, if you speak you bo layan. And our chinese will have no choice to speak bindonesia oncethey are there but once thay are back here...they just dont care. Just take a look at that chinese in indonesai or the chinese indonesai they speak fluent indonesian. Just compared with those chinese born and raised here, even the bangla can speaks better after 6 months...why ???? because too ego. and for the nenek bravo, it should be like that - dimana bumi dipijak di situ langit dijunjung. P/s the semenajung have o privilegies like thsoe sarawiian and sabahan, we are still consider outsider in Sabah and sarawak. Having sabahan and sarawakina working in peninsula never once we feel they are outsider outsider but a Malaysian and yet we are being accused of........
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