How to be a cina

They are many stories about the success of Malaysian in the international arena recently. One of the most interesting read would be the victory of our own shuttler Dato Lee Chong Wei in the prestigious All England championship. What more, the timing of his victory coincided with the centennial celebration of the renowned event. It truly was a momentous occasion that filled our hearts with pride and extreme joy. It’s no wonder he was conferred the dato’ship earlier, for he can truly put our country on the world map. It’s a shame then that he kept on mentioning Penang as his home town and not Malaysia as his country.


I can understand though, because I would be proud of my kampung as well. Marang is the loveliest place in the world and not yet wholly intruded by tourist that would force it’s many holiday spots to charge steep rates. It still is just a fishing town dominated by small to medium enterprises that reeks profits from small number of dwellers that got lost trying to get to Redang or Perhentian island. Most of the businesses operating in the town’s jetty are the local melayu that run a boat service which would take them to the little island of Kapas where holiday goers get to enjoy their sun burn in the comfort of space and little else. It’s quite weird to see if you just came from KL city not least because the local kampong boys are quite actively trying to earn a living, marketing and trading their way around the handful of tourist, a brochure in one hand and hand phone in the other. It’s a sight that would make the Chinese traders in Low Yatt Plaza proud. In fact I was always wondering what the Chinese families of this small place does to earn their keep, not that there are many to begin with.


Ever since I was young, there was a small provision store run by a Chinese family I vividly remember called Mek Leng, on the main street of my kampong. Mek Leng was the lady owner whose name was probably Leng so and so but conveniently called Mek Leng since Mek signifies her to be a puan or lady and Leng her surname. It was part of a wooden row of shop houses facing the kuala. It’s my favourite place when the time came for our family to balik kampong because our pockets are filled with coins and the shop is heaven sent for sweet tooth pre pubescent youth like me and my brother (although not until recently did I discover the shop owner had a beautiful daughter and the reason for my big brother’s constant visits).


That store now has evolved over the years with constant developments done around the jetty and the building of a new mosque, which has forced the relocation of many houses and shops, including my grandparents’ old kampong home. A trip to the new Marang Mini Market today, as it is now called, no longer gave me the same pleasure as it did last time. It’s too similar to the city’s many mini markets and not nearly as authentic as the old. The same family still runs it and their daughter is now married with children of her own. Come to think of it, I don’t think there is any other Chinese family with a mini market in this small town. Maybe they don’t need another one. The town won’t be big enough for two mini markets I guess. But if ever there was another, I wont be surprised if it was run by a branch of the Mek Leng family tree. Its in their genes, trading and marketing. The Chinese first step foot on our shores as traders from the mainland and continued with the tradition until today. It would be very
difficult to find a Chinese that would drastically change the direction of their trade and this has to do mostly with their adherence to family tradition and respect for elders. It’s this legacy that they hold dear and probably the secret to their continued success. After all why fix if it ain’t broke.


In today’s ever changing climate though, many Chinese Malaysian have evolved themselves, a direct result of their variety of diets and the many late night curry binge and teh tarik sessions. Thousands of them are looking at alternative professions that would break them free of the legacy family tradition, a direct result of declining family fortune or business environment, involving themselves as professionals and administrators and sometimes politicians like the Malays too.


This drastic change means that everyone is competing with the Chinese and the Chinese with everyone when it came to fighting for the finite number of opportunities available in Malaysia. Long gone are the days when the Chinese would only have to look at the other Chinese as competitors simply because their arena has now grown out of their traditional field of expertise. With this evolution comes a new set of rules and of course the newly gained skills learned from other’s culture and practices.


The other races too have evolved quietly, just as the Chinese. With it too comes new found skills and under handed strategies. The Malays no longer bound themselves as administrators or fishermen ( there are more successful Chinese fishing boats now) and the Indians are not contented as chetty (money lenders) or rubber tappers. The stereotyping of people according to their race no longer exist in Malaysia so much so that quietly, even though I was laughing about it when it was first mooted, the concept of 1Malaysia actually does make sense, even though I think the perception it’s trying to garner is totally different from what it actually is.


The fact of the matter is, 1Malaysia is not about everyone trying to be Malaysian but rather the Malays, Chinese, Indians and others have evolved so much now that we are too alike for one pot to call another kettle black.


Being a Cina now is the same as being a Malay or Indian. All can sing, all can dance and all can make money, the right way or not.