A really bitter Malaysian-Chinese guy
Published by Mel on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 at 4:20 PMToday, one of my co-workers showed me the news that some rapper who used the Malaysian national anthem to make fun of Malaysia was arrested, jailed for 2 weeks and fined MYR $200. Being the curious person I was, I HAD to go on YouTube to find his video clip.
His rap song was in hokkien mix Mandarin mix Malay mix English. You need to be Malaysian Chinese to understand what he is saying. But I managed to find an English sub of the video. I will explain some of the metaphors he brought up here so that non-Malaysian readers can follow what he is trying to say.
Many people said that his song has more effect on society than 10 years of Lim Kit Siang's speeches (leader of the opposition political party). But I digress.
His song certainly shows disrespect to many different people. He touches on many sensitive issues that Malaysian citizens should not bring up, otherwise they can be arrested for threatening national peace. He is pretty brave (another word for stupid) to put up a song without keeping his face anonymous while still living in the country. I also do not recommend that anyone else follow in his footsteps. It is not prudent.
That being said, I think his jail time allows him to take responsibility for his actions. Anyway the song is really funny, and would make you laugh very hard, but only if you're not the one he is making fun of...
His rap song was in hokkien mix Mandarin mix Malay mix English. You need to be Malaysian Chinese to understand what he is saying. But I managed to find an English sub of the video. I will explain some of the metaphors he brought up here so that non-Malaysian readers can follow what he is trying to say.
Many people said that his song has more effect on society than 10 years of Lim Kit Siang's speeches (leader of the opposition political party). But I digress.
His song certainly shows disrespect to many different people. He touches on many sensitive issues that Malaysian citizens should not bring up, otherwise they can be arrested for threatening national peace. He is pretty brave (another word for stupid) to put up a song without keeping his face anonymous while still living in the country. I also do not recommend that anyone else follow in his footsteps. It is not prudent.
That being said, I think his jail time allows him to take responsibility for his actions. Anyway the song is really funny, and would make you laugh very hard, but only if you're not the one he is making fun of...
Some Explanations for those who find this hard to follow:
NegaraKu = My Country (Title of Malaysia's National Anthem)
Negara Kuku = Country Peni$ (exceedingly rude...and most Malaysians will find this very very offensive)
1. The metaphor about durians is like this: for those who are not familiar with the "King of Fruits", the durian has many thorns and when you cut open the fruit, the smell is quite pungent. It actually smells a bit like rotting meat. Many Westerners can't bear the smell of the durian, but when you get used to the smell, you begin to like it. The taste of this fruit is...well..an acquired taste. Something like how you acquire the taste for Wasabi. Either you HATE it, or you LOVE it.
2. He also talks about policemen being called "MATA" (The clip where they show a pair of eyes). Mata is how the Chinese call the police, and Mata in Malay also means eyes. When he says they want "tea", he means they are asking for a bribe. It is rumoured that when they ask for bribes, they don't say "pay me a bribe", they say "I need some money for coffee". So these rumours claim that bribes are called "duit kopi" or coffee money. Hence the song claims that if you put "more sugar in the coffee" (meaning you are bribing with more money), and the police will be so happy that they even wave goodbye to you (wave "TATA" means waving bye-bye). Note to foreigners: These are rumours and have not been concretely proven.
3. The subsequent clips basically says that it is a good thing, because without bribing, he would get summons and his dad will get mad at him and proceed to restrict the use of the car. Without the car, he can't go looking for females and Ah-Kua (transvestites or she-males). Basically, Kuala Lumpur has a street that is FULL of she-males and they are apparently very popular with the local men. I have actually driven past that street before at 11pm (just to check out the rumours) and it was TRUE!!! Some of the she-males are so pretty that I actually felt very self-concious about my looks. Anyway, I was only driven past that street once, so I don't know if they are still there. The police may have already done something about it by now.
4. For those unfamiliar with the Islamic religion, they may be confused as to why there is "alarm clock" from the mosque at 5am (as claimed by the singer/rapper). Muslims are very religious people who have to pray 5 times a day. They get up before the break of dawn to start their prayers, which are sung over loud speakers in the mosques. Hence, before the break of dawn, you will hear their prayers if you stay close enough to the locations of the mosque. He says the prayers sound like the rooster crowing, but they wake up earlier than roosters. (Very rude to say this if you ask me. I mean, there's nothing wrong with people praying and everything right with this. Besides, I once stayed for 5 days in a hotel near a mosque and eventually got used to it and even learnt to enjoy it)
5. The part where he brings up the "kuih", kuih is a something like a Malay cake (for lack of a better explanation) and tastes very nice. The service in government offices is normally quite slow, and I can't really blame them since their pay isn't very high. This, however, is being changed and reform is taking place. A couple of months ago, government employees saw a substantial pay rise. He also talks about the guards being asleep so they won't give you any trouble. Ok, I can attest to this. Most buildings have guards, and they are almost always asleep during their shift. Seriously. I once left my office building a bit late (12.30 am) and had to wake the guard up to open the gate for me so that I can drive home. Haahahaha.
6. The part where he said Malay girls who wear tudung (head scarf) always cross the street so slowly, I really found offensive. Seriously. You can't walk fast when you are wearing a baju kurung or baju kebaya (both are clothes styled in a two pieces, where the skirt is long and loose, and the top is also loose, knee-length and long-sleeved (kurung) or hip-length, worn jacket-style and long sleeved (kebaya). I have worn both many times, and it's impossible to walk fast in them. Besides, pedestrians always have the right of way....although Malaysian drivers are really notorious for ignoring that fact.
At the end of the day, one must take this song with a pinch of salt. It's just a joke by some guy who decided to get popular by making fun of the country. It's not unlike the thousands of people who make jokes and poke fun at Clinton when he was president, or Bush (currently). Or the Brits laughing at Blair. You laugh at it, and forget about it tomorrow.
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