1. According to the video clip that compose and perfome by by Namawe, the Malaysian student in
Taiwan who caused havoc with his R&B rendition of the national anthem. The title of the song is
Negarakuku, Negara is country in Malay, ku is mine, which literally means My Country, that’s the title
of our national anthem. The double ku(s) used for this title, could be just a rapper echo or it could be
kuku, which is a slang for the male reproductive organ or d@#k or c#%k.
Country, when translated directly to Chinese is “country family/home”. The Chinese through the
Confucius teaching strongly believe that a country is a home. It’s a top down approach, when you have
a stable country then you can have a caring and loving family, only then the individual can thrive.
The Malaysian Chinese in general are a very timid lots, they will avoid any politically or socially
sensitive topics like a plague. They only want to maintain a stable environment to live in and are afraid
to voice out their grouses in public.
Durian is a type of fruit that is peculiar to the tropical Asian region. The pungent fresh is hidden behind
a thick, hard and thorny shell. Most people in Malaysia love the smell while a minority, especially
foreigner can’t stand the smell and will bolt when the first whiff past their nostril. Thus, Namewee used
the durian as a paradox, some will hate him for this song but others will love him for it.
During the olden days, the enforcement officer in Malaysia is called mata-mata which can be loosely
translated as “The Eyes”. When the festivals season draws near, there will be a surge in the police
present on the road and every where else. Because, the government servants here only bring home a
meager package every month. They will be on the look out for some sweetener which is bribe to you
and me. This phenomenon is most prevalent just before the festival as they need that little extra to
spend for the celebration.
When the man or lady were caught for some offences especially traffic related, the officer will walk up
to you holding the compound booklet and talk very politely to you. The officer is expecting something
from the offender and will normally ask: Now how? Then, the offender will plead: Can settled?
Meaning we wish to settled the fine on the spot. The euphemism term for this convenience is “Tea
money”, which means that we can get off the hook by buying the officer some tea. After, both parties
got what they wanted. The officer pocket is enhanced with some extra cash and the offender got off
relatively light, the officer will wave and said good bye which is “tata”.
The authority has embarked on a few campaigns to improve the police efficiency and to foster a closer
and friendlier relationship with the people. But in actual fact, the people and the enforcement officer do
have a very good working relationship as long as the clandestine activity of settling fine on the spot is
still on going. A cup of coffee or any other drinks is what keep the relationship between the police
officer and the people intact.
There is a perceived mutual benefit of this arrangement. The offender can get off the hook with only
minimal financial lose while the officer’s pocket will be thicker with extra cash.
If the offender took his or her parent car out for a joyride, he or she don’t wish to receive a compound
send to their home and later found out by the parents. Then the juvenile will be grounded. In Malaysia,
we will be immobile without a car as the public transport system is not up to scratch. The car is also the
best and for some the only place to get intimate with girl friend or boy friend. Without a car, the “wild

2. war” which literally means making up at places other than a room or a house. It is almost a national
pass time to drive around with a few friends and roam the street at night looking out for transvestites.
Most of the transgenders will stand on the street at night soliciting for clients though most of us will
just see or tease but dare not touch.
At around 5 in the morning, the mosque will start praying by piping through the prayer via
loudspeaker. It is a prerequisite for every housing development to allocate a land and resources to build
a building for worshipping. Some areas even have a few religious building in close proximity. As a
result, you will hear prayer echoing through a large swathe of land in the cold morning with all sort of
rhythm and tempo rivaling the best performance dish out by the Idols wannabe. 5am is a time when
even the cockerel is still in the dream land, let alone the rest of the non early morning praying
population. Anyhow, there are more and more people who will have to rise early due to the escalating
amount of vehicles on our road with no other transportation mode to turn to. Besides, many families
shifted to the city outskirts in search for cheaper alternative accommodation which translate into longer
distance between home and office or school.
Malaysia is a blessed country, with plentiful natural resources, relatively stable political climate and
not prone to natural disaster. In spite of the god send gift, many among the ethnic minority have a
linger feeling that the nation could have been progressing much further up the economic value scale.
The sticking point is always the achievement of our neighbor, the tiny weenie nation state of Singapore.
The southern neighbor was split from the federation of Malaysia in 1965 and has developed from
strength to strength. The developed status acquired by Singapore was because of and not despite of the
fact that they have nothing in term of natural resources.
When the world is being flatten and moving at break neck speed toward a borderless community,
Malaysia has not completely dismantled the wall build to protect our economy. Much worse, there are
some restrictions put up to protect a certain ethnic group to much chagrin of the other minorities. The
Chinese always have the feeling of being short changed by the government. In Malaysia, we practice
what is essentially a one party democracy. Opposition parties exist and are allow to contest in the
general election but there is no way that an alternative coalition can be form the next government. The
opposition parties just don’t have the campaigning machineries and unity to mount a serious
challenge. So, the mentality of the Chinese is, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.
Fearing that if and when the government is changed, their plight will be even worse rather than
improved.