DATELINE: Calling someone a keling is insulting? I cannot brain this

Selamat Pagi Malaysia.

Let us get real. I am of the old school. How old a school? A seventy-six years old 'school'. I am from that time when we Malays call the Chinese, towkay, the Chinese call Malays kawan, or, if the occasion dictates encik, and, we Malays and the Chinese, call the Indians, Keling.

Not because we did not know any better, not because we were respectful or disrespectful of each other, and not even because we deserved to be addressed as such....but it was because at that time that we were living in, for most people, Ah Chong was towkay, Hussein is kawan, and Raja a Keling....and the three of us were friends.

At what stage of my life was Raja no longer a Keling and became a Hindu or Orang India, escapes me. When did it become disrespectful, inconsiderate, and inappropriate for me to call Raja a Keling is also moot. And how Raja was insulted because I called him a Keling has got to be explained to me by others who would know better, because for me and Raja, we were still Hussein and Raja, or, as others who did not know our names will call us, kawan and keling.

Our PMX and I are of that era when kawan, towkay and keling are terms we live by. Do not tell us that we are inconsiderate, or disrespectful and that we mean harm when we call anyone a keling....we are just calling a spade a spade, as we know it.

BUT...we are also aware that in the times that we are now living in, calling someone a keling and being termed an estate Indian, upsets some people...and we are learning to live by these new rules. If they are rules you orang India insists that we must live by.

And Krishna, it would do us all a great deal of good if you would explain how the word keling is disrespectful, can upset and cause potential harm to the Indian community....because, for the life of me, I cannot brain why there is this storm in a teacup just because our PMX had used keling when he was referring to the Kelings.

Now you have got me so confused that I have begun to wonder if I should use the word keling with a capital K or not!

The reality is simply this. The real issue here is that even if the Malay majority does govern, the rights of the minority must always be upheld and protected. As Krishna wrote "The Indian community should not be treated as a mere electoral fixed-deposit. The Indian community, being an integral part of the coalition's foundation, deserves genuine representation, respect, and acknowledgment of their concerns".

All that I can brain and I am with you all the way.

BUT.... you orang India, as you now prefer to be known as....you orang India can best do it by NOT whining and complaining every time the PMX calls you guys Kelings, but by making yourself useful, upright citizens who are politically relevant, to PMX....and... getting good, decent and upright Indian leaders to lead the Indians, would be a start.

PS. Raja is still a friend. A good friend that has stood the test of time. We know each other's name - so to him I am Hussein and to me he is Raja and there is no need for him to call me kawan or I, to call him by any other name but Raja. As for Ah Chong...he went to VI, then to London, and ended up as an Accountant, staying on in London to this very day.

As for Krishna Govinth, Vice Chairman of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Negeri Selangor, and Chairman of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Bahagian Kota Raja, I suggest you go and find some other issues that are worthy of your attention as Vice Chairman of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Negeri Selangor, Chairman of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Bahagian Kota Raja.

Enough said.

Vice Chairman of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Negeri Selangor, Chairman of Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Bahagian Kota Raja.