what a colourful world

One fine day (fine weather but not me..), at a clinic's registration counter in Tawau....

Clinic assistant : Nama? (Name?)

Me : Z*****

C.A. : Umur? (Age?)

Me : 3*

C.A. : Kerja? (Occupation?)

Me : P***** M*****

C.A. : Suku?

Me : Hm? Suku?... (a few miliseconds pass) ..owh, Melayu.

C.A. : Ok. (And handed my new clinic card.)

The conversation above might not matter much to just anybody, perhaps it's just a trifling thing. But it's significant enough for me to be remembering it, still. It reminded me how these little things made me aware of the gazillion roots or ethnicity this part of the country have. And how some people just feel that it's enough to know that there's only Malays, Chinese, Indians, Bumis or non-Bumis.

The reason why I still remember this little 'interview' is because never before in my life someone asked me what 'suku' (race) I am. The closest thing I could think of is 'bangsa' but that is almost never being asked verbally, you just simply write that information in written forms, rather absent-mindedly. But to be asked that verbally, I almost said, at the back of my mind, to the clinic assistant, 'Can't you tell?'.

The thing is, on the other side of the country, people just so used to the fact that (and take it for granted) the brown-coloured skin and flat-nosed (and tudung-clad ladies) are Malays, fair and slit-eyes are Chinese, and dark-brown skin with big eyes are Indians. Others that don't look close enough to that description or maybe 'half-half' of something might be the ones to be asked what race are they. Here in Sabah, one might have to ask to know...at least, for my untrained 'foreign' eyes, because there are not simply the 3 major races here, or Kadazan, Bajau, Dusun for that matter, plus the whole lot who came from the other side of the sea, I guess.

What a colourful world it is....a salad mixture, or bubur cha cha...whatever it is, it tastes good.