When Mahathir Mohamed proclaimed that he was a fundemantalist, the world gasped in horror. He however knew better for he was a master at the subversive and the provocative. He further explained that he was fundemantalist not in the Christian Belt sense but in the purest sense of the word.
The thing is , the English language especially ones that was borned out of political and media America is culturally imposing language. Much of it has to do with being politically influential and powerful. Thus most of the time, it refuses bigottedly to acknowledge the cultural sensitivities of the Others, especially the Oriental (another colonial device to subjugate the others).
Going back to the man himself, Mahathir explained that he was a fundementalist because he follows the fundementals of Islam. It was an attempt to turn the tide of the so-called ‘New World Order’ that George Bush Sr had proclaimed after the first Gulf War. In doing so, the former Malaysian Prime Minister bordered on the subversive.
In relation to that, the term ‘Mat’ or ‘Minah’ has over the years brought about a rather negative connotation in Singapore. This is due to the economic and political situation of the Malays in Singapore and perhaps in Malaysia. To be a Malay in Singapore or Singapura, as it was formerly known, between the late 60s and the 80s was to be economically poor and politically powerless. Since that was the predicament of the Malays during those times, the term spawned into an undesirable association. However, looking at the root of the term, by doing a Mahathir, this association is damningly insulting.
Let me explain why it is damningly so.
The terms ‘Mat’ and ‘Minah’ came about during a time when we were ruled by the British. Due to the superiority complex of the British, they understandably did not take the effort to learn the names of their subordinates.
Before i go on further, let me detail the origin of the term.
‘Mat’ is short for Muhammad and ‘Minah’ is short for Aminah. It is widely acknowledged that those names were popular with the Muslim-Malays. This is because Muhammad is the name of the prophet and Minah is the name of the prophet’s mother, it was popular amongst the largely Muslim Malays. The reason for its popularity is that a child who bears the name of the prohpet or his mother is a blessed child. So, the result is thus unsurprising.
Back to the argument, since almost everybody has a Muhammad or an Aminah, it is easier to just call every one that. Thus a Muhammad becomes a ‘Mat(d) and an Aminah becomes a ‘Minah’.
However, as an exemplary figure of the Muslim World if not the World at large, it is funny how his name is first taken for granted and secondly it now bears a negative connotation. I am sure if he were alive today, he would most definitely take offense and rightly so!
My point is, it is sad to see such a beautiful name to have been degraded from its original throne. It is even more sad that no one even cares about how that came to be.
But I am taking no shit from no one. With pride and with joy, I would like to proclaim to the ignorant that I am proud to be a ‘Mat’.
Song of the Day: Marhaban by Traditional
Finger Acrobatics Performed by Avloomat @ 2145Hrs
