You, Melayu ke?

I got this questions quite frequently, or rather, questions relatively close to this one.

For example, today at PIKOM fair, as many as 8 Chinese salespersons/promoters came up to me to promote their products. Out of that 8, 3 of them started the conversation with Bahasa.

“Encik, mahu cari apa?”

“Printer sekrang hanya jual satu sembilan sembilan saja… Murah, boleh beli.”

If I got anymore suntanned, I must be looking exactly like a Malay boy.

 

I have got used to it actually. But the most hilarious one happened today, at the University LRT station, when a Malay guy was hesitantly approaching me to ask me something. I was listening to my music while waiting for the bus.

“Erm…”

“Huh?” I asked.

Still hesitating… he asked again, mumbling softly “Melayu?”

I couldn’t hear quite clearly… so I questioned him “Melayu?”

I swear, I could see him shocked when I said that.

“Kamu MELAYU? atau cina?”

“Bukan bukan, saya cina la…”

And he went off scratching his head… As if he’d heard something bizarre.

I swear, if I kept on insisting that I’m a Malay, with my (quite) fluent Bahasa, he would have believed me.

 

Perhaps I do look like a Malay. A guy with dark suntanned skin, a short goatee and wearing a cap.