Who's Kebaya, Kueh Lapis and Ondeh-ondeh Is It Anyway?

I caught up with a long-time buddy, Y, last weekend. Over a plate of fried sotong balls with mayonnaise and Thai chilli sauce, our discussion effortlessly transcended from topic to topic; from Twitter to teenage angst to Gucci to culture. That's how it has always been for us, considering that we're pretty opinionated people who have respectfully agreed to disagree.

The stimulating conversation somewhat took a jammed brake, when Y dropped this bomb -why are we Malays losing our rights over Kebaya, Kueh Lapis and Ondeh-ondeh to the Peranakans? Because this thought has squatted on my mind before, I quickly replied "because we Malays are not championing our rights". He glared at me in a manner that if eyes could kill, I would have been dead then, face down on that plate of sotong balls.

"Eh, rilek lah, I was merely stating the obvious. How many times have you heard Malays proudly proclaiming "my Malay is not good". Not that their English is kilat either! So proud of their cultural deficiency", I shot the statements back at Y. This time, my glare could have nullified his existence too. No, we weren't locking horns, we were just bewildered to learn of our own cultural erosion via kebaya, kueh lapis and ondeh-ondeh.

What irked Y the most (and I must confess myself too) is when he mentioned his mum's plan to tailor a kebaya suit for special ocassions, certain uninitiated member of the Singapore community plainly queried "why, your mum got Peranakan blood meh?", as if that is pre-requisite for wearing kebayas.

I am no culture expert, but what I learnt from readings is that Kebaya originated from the Arab region. It came to the Malay Archipelago and was widely worn by the Indonesians. Over time, the Peranakans in Melaka re-adapted it and called it Kebaya Nyonya. But then, our young ones today might (mistakenly) think the Singapore Girl, Joanne Peh and Jeannette Aw were the true champions of the kebaya! But hey, long before SIA and The Little Nyonya, the Malays have been wearing kebayas during Hari Raya, aside from baju kurung.

As for ondeh-ondeh, kueh lapis and the likes, I really don't know who is the true custodian - the Malays or the Peranakans. But what I do know is, Begawan Solo was the pioneer in raising the status of these kuehs by housing them in air conditioned bakery shops and giving them chic packaging, albeit they're not Halal certified.

The thing is this, if we happily and voluntarily repudiate what is rightfully ours, let's not blame those who chose to inherit and embrace it lovingly. Same goes for not knowing how to speak Malay, the non-Malays are already learning and speaking it well (applies to other forms of Mother Tongue - be it Mandarin, Tamil or others).

In the midst of modernity, do not debunk who we truly are and the Asian root that has grown deep in us. Happy National Day!