Language and culture are often tightly intertwined throughout history, complementing the other to reflect its cultural richness. However, there may be times where certain words are derogatory to a particular cultural group due to the negative connotations attached to them.
Today, activist S. Shankar Ganesh took to MalaysiaKini to voice his displeasure over the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka’s (DBP) usage of the word keling for its official definition of Tambi in the Kamus Bahasa Melayu.
(Photo via MalaysiaKini)
“This is unacceptable. It’s an insult. DBP should apologize to the public and remove the word keling from their portal,” he wrote.
He also urged the government to be mindful and prohibit such racially discriminatory words from being used to preserve Malaysia’s racial harmony.
According to the DBP, it described Indians younger than themselves as Tambi. As for keling, it is meant to refer to Malaysian Indians specifically.
The use of keling is long known to be a controversial and derogatory term to address people of Indian descent, especially in Malaysia.
Although the early definition of keling was mostly neutral (its origins can be traced back to the Indian kingdom Kalinga), it later evolved into a term meant to paint Malaysian Indians as immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century.
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Prof P. Ramasamy also condemned the DBP for its blatant display of discrimination and called for the word’s instant removal.
(Photo taken from: MalaysiaKini)
“It is racist on the part of DBP to link the commonly used word in the Tamil community tambi to the derogatory keling.”
“It is plain and simple, it is a derogatory and offensive word to humiliate and put down members of the Indian community. There is no such word in the Tamil vocabulary,”
This is not the first time the DBP was caught using keling in its publications. In 2003, Angkatan Pelopor India Muslim Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan (APIM) took them to the High Court for using the word in multiple ways to describe Indians as unruly people.
Netizens had plenty to say over the controversy, with some believing that an established institution like the DBP should not be endorsing the use of racist terms.
Others had no issue with the word, saying that keling should not be perceived as discriminatory.
What do you think about the use of keling by the DBP? Do you think it’s a racist term for Malaysian Indians? Leave us a comment down below!
Sources: (MalaysiaKini, fb/MalaysiaKini, The Star)
Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
