Confessions of a “Melayu celup”

[...] You know, people have called me "celup" and "Melayu murtad", but then on my grandmother's side, we're all very Melayu. I probably even have Orang Asli blood. So when people say I'm not really Melayu, I'll say, "Hello, I'm very Melayu, ok?" (Laughs.)

Growing up, the very concept of racism never computed with me. My mother was white, my father was Malay, and that was that. The awareness of race came after 1969. I remember when 13 May happened, I was in kindergarten. There was a big panic, and I was put into a taxi driven by a Chinese woman who was obviously panicking. She made several stops, just to, you know, "Aaaaaargh!" I remember finally getting home and all of us moving into my parents' bedroom. It was only after that incident, in Standard One, that I became aware of the different races, like, "Oh, you are Chinese [Malaysian], I am Malay [Malaysian]." [ lagi ]

Confessions of a “Melayu celup”