the migrant status

the awkward moment when the new asian kid says "1 2 tree"

the migrants: caught between the natives, locals and FOBs

(fresh of the boat)

sometimes we find ourselves caught in a limbo where we're not quite fresh off the boat, but:

-we still do things like bring our lunches in a thermos

-we speak a variation of english fluently, in my case,

manglish, when we're not in the correct "mode"

-our parents buy things in bulk eg. toilet paper

- our parents save plastic take away containers

-asian people are called aunty/uncle, white people are mr/mrs

-we do all our homework in school so we don't have homework/ go for tuition.

-people still think we don't speak english and

don't know where malaysia is.

-said people are shocked when you speak "good english"

-said people are super impressed if you speak in other language eg. counting in malay during maths (which we are supposedly good at)

-play the piano or violin

-my grandma almost sent me for chinese cooking lessons to find a nice chinese doctor boyfriend

( she said this jokingly but we all know it's not a joke, what popo or ah ma doesn't want a pure chinese bloodline?)

at the same time, i:

-worked in a bar in a pretty "bogan" area

- can't cook asian food to save my life

-didn't just hang out with the asian crew at school

-sound pretty convincingly aussie

-cringe when people talk to me in chinese and i have to meekly answer in english

-don't watch tvb or korean dramas

-didn't study chemistry

- am not a doctor/lawyer/accountant/dentist/engineer

(this constitutes what is known as: ASIAN FAIL)

now lately, i've been pondering about what it means to be a migrant. am i an aussie? or a malaysian? i'm turning 22 this year, meaning that i would have officially spent half my life in malaysia, and half in australia. i've surrendered my malaysian citizenship in favour of an aussie one, it wasn't a hard choice. I knew my parents came over to be closer to

family, but i also knew it was to escape a system where being a malaysian chinese, i would have always been a 2nd class citizen in comparison to the malays (bumiputras). oh yes, life would have been so much more different. here in australia, if i worked hard i almost had an equal shot as everyone else to get into a course at uni.

that being said, i think i owe my work ethic to the malaysian education system (all the good bits really), it made me work harder and gave me a greater appreciation for the education

system here. the pelthora of races in malaysia made it easy for me to get along with people from different races/cultures/religions and not making the rookie mistake of not knowing which hand to shake. ;)

i loved growing up in malaysia. it was a lot safer back then, and mahathir seemed like an okay guy. but every now and then, i'd have a sneak peek at malaysia kini, nutgraph etc to see how my homeland is doing, and i find myself in a state of sadness. see, as much as i sometimes crack a joke at the dismal state of malaysia.

eg obedient wives club it saddens me to see what has become of the place i once called home. EVERY malaysian knows the political situation is crazy and malaysia has finally had enough and are illegally marching for reform of the government. the bersih* rally on the 9th of July is where malaysians all over the world, from all races and all walks of life are gathering together to oppose a corrupt government.

reading the updates from facebook and various media outlets i can undoubtedly say i am so proud of the malaysian people. it can be said that sometimes the asian culture is to not become involved because it is more troublesome to do so, but the overwhelming number of malaysians who ARE doing something makes me so proud to be malaysian.

so yes, whilst i love myself a good barbie with a cracking cider in hand, should someone ask where i'm from, you can bet your bottom dollar that my answer will be that "i'm from malaysia"** because after all, where would i be without "negaraku"?

*bersih is the malay word for clean, tying in with the whole idea that malaysians everywhere are calling for a clean and fair election. the rally is on the 9th and people are showing their support by wearing yellow. i'll be at a camp in the bluemountains in sydney but i WILL be wearing yellow on the 9th of july. to those of you going to the rallies and wearing yellow, god bless, and wear good running shoes so you don't get caught.

** to my malaysian and singaporean homies, you'd get this version: "KL LAH!! you LEH?"