RIFLE RANGE BOY

Growing up with Ghosts (Bernice Chauly) I am Punjabi, a sardarni of the Khalsa. Of the pure, from the tenets sprung from the loins of Guru Nanak. From the plains of the Punjab, and the wheat fields of Amritsar. I am Chinese, from the port city of Canton, from Fatshan, from Lam Soy Chea, from the village of fishermen and of joss stick makers. Bernice Chauly. I can relate to this story as a good deal of its background is set at a time when I was growing up in RRF. The book is another proof that the country is not only a collection of illiterate low skilled workers but instead they are many who hone literary skills. It also denotes the sacrifices the immigrants of the 20th century in their new found motherland of Malaya towards its development from a backwater nation to what it is today. Set against a background of forbidden love of second generation Malayans, through a series of love letters, investigative interviews and soul searching expeditions, a daughter narrates the trials an...

by Temily Tianmay Jaya Gopan ( photo by sateda ) The birth of Baby Shay to Subang Jaya assemblywoman, Hannah Yeoh, has shed light on a minority population that has yet to receive significant attention. Shay’s father, and Yeoh’s husband, is Indian. Most Malaysians are familiar with the local term ‘Chindian’, which describes children of Chinese and Indian parentage. As a Chindian myself, I feel particularly connected to the ongoing controversy surrounding the baby’s race and can’t help but notice that the Chindian narrative regarding this matter has not been considered. When I told my 10-year-old sister about the debate sparked by Baby Shay’s Chindian roots, she told me that her own teacher had insisted that she was Indian even though she clearly told her she was Ch-indian. “I am not Indian. I am different from the other Indians at school even though my paper says Indian. I look Malay but I’m not. But I am also not Chinese. So I can only be Chindian”, she said. She knows first-hand how ...

One big Chindian family: The lady is blue,a Chinese baby was adopted by an Indian family and later became  a Tamil school teacher! She is wearing shades after cataract surgery. Her family members are more inclined to Indian way of lifestyle - in preference of food, language and choice of spouse. Bernard Chandran-designer Nicol David @ Duracell Bunny Not Chindian, but Amala (Tamil movie star of 80's). Could pass off as a Chindian!       Tan Sri & son, Ruben Gnanalingam. ( 2007:Forbes Asia, 29 in their List of 40  Richest M'sians wealth US$215 million.   Pretty Chindian lasses, could be mistaken for Filipinas, Hispanics or any global citizen Another happy family! Michael Veerapan, jazz pianist extraordinare Datuk Krishnan Tan Puan Sri Gnanalingam * Author’s precautionary advice:  Please be forewarned that the content of this article may appear racial...