poyo ke aku ni?

Last weekend, my uncles, cousins and, myself had a discussion about how we Malays currently function. It started out with my uncle telling us that a teacher in V.I. told him that there are groups of "blur" kids. These kids aren't really blur; they just behave as if they are ignorant and unaware in order to look "cool".

This piece of information got us all talking. I told my uncle that it seems apparent to me that to many Malays, speaking up in class and answering questions that lecturers ask is a habit that is considered "poyo" or lame. Kids who practise this are usually labelled as teacher's pets and the act itself is considered ass-kissing. We also discussed how speaking English is negatively accepted by many Malay students. We talked about how when some of us speak English to our friends, they call us show-offs and say we're people who "belagak bagus sangat sebab boleh cakap English".

Honestly, i find it a shame how much truth there were in the things i said that day. How can anybody think that speaking up in class is lame? Does it not help you understand better in class? For me, asking and answering questions in class ensures that the information i've been fed are understood and clarified. Speaking up in class shouldn't have a negative connotation. It should be positive through and through. And since when did speaking English become something people do to show off? Being able to speak the language gives you, as a person, an added advantage, especially in the future when you want to look for jobs. Speaking it now, is a form of practice. Practicing now means you'll be more fluent later. English is an extra and it is now on high-demand. If you feel speaking English is uncool or lame or whatever else, well, that's your bad.

Truthfully, if speaking up in class and conversing in English makes me "poyo" and not doing these things makes me "cool", I would much rather be poyo, thank you very much.

I'm happy in this boat.