Keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling.
Offended? Okay, let me try again.
Keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling.
Still offended? Too bad.
Early this year I wrote an article titled “I am a Keling. So what?”. The article was read by many, shared by almost eight thousand people, commented by more than a hundred readers, shared by many pages and blogs, a few writers even dedicated some articles to condemn my piece and I also received many hate messages.
Apparently, many Indians, despite claiming the word ‘Keling’ to belong to the Indian Muslim community and not to the Indian community at large, are offended by what they think is a derogatory word. And recently, they flipped yet again when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed used the exact same word. I find this very very amusing and I will tell you why.
I am an Indian Muslim – technically that makes me a Keling. Tun Dr Mahathir is also an Indian Muslim, which makes him a Keling as well. So why does everyone flip over when we Kelings use the word ‘Keling’? What’s more surprising is that the people who seem to be so offended are not even Kelings since they are not Indian Muslims.
Seriously, I cannot fathom the reason people are so sensitive and are easily getting offended. For donkey years we’ve had Sungai Keling, Tanjung Keling, Masjid Kapitan Keling and so many other Kelings but no one said anything about those terms being offensive. Why turn it into a racial slur now and get all worked up?
Has anyone wondered how is it that an acceptable word in history has evolved into a word that is now derogatory?
To be honest, most Indians I have met cannot even define the word Keling with much clarity.
- Some say “Kling” was the noise made by the ankle chains attached to the Indian slaves brought to Penang by the British.
- Some say Keling is from Kalinga, an ancient civilization from Orissa that influenced much of Southeast Asia.
- Some claim the word Keling derived from our ancestors who wore lots of jewels and made the clinking sound when they walked. ·
Keling Keling! Offended?
Some say it was started by the Chinese who calls Indians ‘Kelinga’ which means dark people.
Most Indians do not even know the exact origin and root of the word ‘Keling’, but get all fired up just because someone claim it to be a racist word. Kinda stupid, eh?
Well, let me ask you – how about some words used within the Indian community referring to other races? I am pretty sure the word ‘Sadaiyyan’ and ‘Nattan’ which refers to the Chinese and Malays aren’t exactly terms of endearment, or is it? ‘Babi’, ‘Apek’, ‘Estet’, ‘Belacan’, ‘Kafir’, ‘Pandikutty’, ‘Rempit’ – any term can be a derogatory term if used in a derogative manner. Even calling a person ‘India!’, ‘Mamak!’, ‘Melayu!’, ‘Cina!’ or ‘Benggali’ can be deemed as derogative if uttered in an ill-mannered way. That brings us to an important question – did Tun Dr Mahathir use the word Keling in a derogative manner?
The outburst by some Indians in our country regarding this whole episode about ‘Keling’ shows the reason why our Indian community are still lagging behind other races in Malaysia. We make mountains of mole hills – tiny issues can get us Indians all worked up but we remain quiet over real issues that are affecting our community and our nation.
If we could just show the same energy when it comes to the education of our children, fair job opportunities for our youth and improved living conditions for our elderlies, as we do when it comes to Super Star Rajnikanth, temples or when we hear the word ‘Keling’- Malaysian Indians would definitely be in a better place.
Perhaps the time has come for us to force our thick skulls into understanding that any words can be used as a propaganda machine to deceive our minds into demoralizing ourselves if we allow it. It is up to us to decide if we want to be a victim or a champ.
Maybe one way to cleanse the stigma of the word ‘Keling’ is by using it more in our daily vocabulary – but of course in a non-derogative manner. Imagine friends greeting each other – “Wassup Keling! Inthe weekend Kabali pattuvittu, mamak povoma?” (This weekend after watching Kabali, let’s go for a drink). How does that sound?
So yeah, let’s get over this ‘Keling’ thing once and for all – stop getting offended over meaningless words when there are so many other things the Indian community should be focusing on. For a start, you may join me in reciting ‘The Keling mantra’.
The Keling Mantra: Close your eyes and recite the words clearly and calmly.
“Keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling, keling.”
Offended? Repeat the mantra.
This article is written and initially posted by Fa Abdul
