It's ironic how many people will suddenly become great humanists in defending the syncretic nature of culture when it comes to hijab. These are the same people who deny that the word Melayu is of Indian origin because India is sooooo far away
One second you pretend that Malay civilisation is "pure" and free of outside influence, but somehow Arab and Middle Eastern influence gets a pass, even in cases where said influence has only a few decades (or less) of history behind it
I wonder if these people realise that the Middle East is culturally and geographically closer to Europe than Malaysia. That Malays had greater contact with China than Arabia. Just admit that you're trying to sell a narrative, and a very specific definition of what's "Malay"
And just so everyone knows, resisting Arabisation does not mean you hate Arabs or their culture. Criticising westernisation does not make you anti-western. I've spent more time around Arabs than the young Arabophile cybertroopers
Racial supremacists like to hide behind "it's OK to be X race" as if their need for dominance has something to do with ethnic pride. It doesn't. Instead, those of us who are proud of Malay culture are now getting called anti-Arab? Ridiculous argument
