I finally gotten round to watch the highly acclaimed Yasmin Ahmad’s movie Sepet about a love between a Chinese boy and a Malay girl.
Yes yes call me slow poach, although I was late seeing it, I’m glad I finally did.
It was a touching movie. If you have yet to watch it, please do so. In fact this movie is a trilogy, next is Gubra, then Mukhsin
The movie dwell upon the topic of interracial relationship
Watching this movie kinda made me recall when I had my first crush. I think it was a crush
I was in Primary One then. I was a fiesty rough kid then but when she’s around, she literally made my knees weak lah, cair rabak. I was too afraid to sit beside her, look at her or even breathe the same air as she was.
What a wuss I was yar, still am now if I like the gurl, haha! And to top it all, the teacher allocated me to sit next to her in class. Wah piang everyday was torture for me!
She was about my height, 1.3m? I don’t know what’s normal for Primary One kid height. Hahaha … Shoulder length straight hair. Big eyes and she has this frowning face always. Maybe to scare off the little boys away, but she’s nice to me.
Quite fair, she don’t really get herself involve in outdoors or playing during recess. She wears plenty of talcum powder, everyday in the morning I’ll often see her damn white putih like a corpse!
Unlike the many Cheena kids in the class who don’t shower coming to school, she’s the only one who did. I like smelling her in the morning. She’s also the skinny type and at times during class playtime I’ll knock into her bones more often than I needed to, sometimes on purpose, keke.
I’ve never really have an issue with skin color when I’m dating someone or in a relationship. But then again, I was also too young to comprehend the interracial relationship issues we Asian have then. Growing up, you tend to form prejudices at times from all the influences around you, but I glad I’m still true to myself and open about this issue, even when I was still in Primary One then or adulthood now.
Well back to my crush flashback. Since we were the two shortest kids in the class, when lining up during assembly or moving to places as a class, there I’ll be in front of the line with her, holding her hand.
Most of the time she’s the one who will grab my hand. I was too malu embarassed to hold her lah! Muahaha … Awww can you imagine such a cute sweet sight of both us? Well not for me then!
I was terrified. Imagine a little boy, with all these feelings and urges and not knowing what it was. It was horror I tell ya! But I was also excited, that I was close next to her always. Only when I grew older and have a better understanding of crushes and love, did I finally chuckled at my hilarious reaction to this crush I had when I was in Primary One.
This went on for the rest of the following primary school year, it was such a challenge to act cool and not all mushy then.
I think that was my biggest regret, was not actually get to know her better. I let my ego get in the way and I kept her at at a distance just as classmates.
I wish I did made an effort then to keep in touch or be friends outside the classroom, but I didn’t. At times, I wonder where is she now or what path has she taken in life.
Aaaahhh sweet childhood memories. Do you have any? Do share in the comment box below ok
My readers, are you fine with interracial relationship? Would you even get involved in one? The truth is, sometimes you don’t get to choose who to love
The questions now is ‘Does color really matters in this day of age’?
Well in my opinion, although there’s more Asian parents are more open about who their sons and daughter are dating but ultimately they don’t really like their children marrying outside of their race … that’s a sad but a true fact of life.
I still believe in interracial relationship, but with its baggage comes alot of complicated issues like religion, parents blessing and culture indifference.
Well just hope I find a gadis Melayu then eh … then all will be fine and dandy
i think it’s not so much abt the race. it’s abt the religion issue. but if it’s meant to work out…i guess it will =)
true .. you gotta hurdle that soon enough *ehem*
i’m sure it will work out … u got my support!
yay for awesome post topic! hahahahaha
sorry hor. i comment banyak2. tgh kpo kpo ni.
first, reply ur comment on my blog: yes i’m back! hehe i flew in friday morning. been sleeping really. didnt really go out till sunday. u saw the pics. and hahahaha, ur accent/cent joke cracked me up. i told my mom abt it and she laughed too. i’m a sucker for corny/lame jokes. i’m easily amused hahaha :) see, cheap entertainment. lol
ok moving on…interracial relationship. i think maybe back then in the 80′s. interracial stuff was MORE of a problem than it is today. it’s not that bad lah i would say.
take for example the US. and i remember posting abt this because u had a question abt who was better dating; local or american. the US is a huge melting pot. it’s almost inevitable that pple date outside of their race. me, personally, ive never dated a mly. not by choice but because i’m never in singapore. no mlys where i’m at either. so it’s always been an interracial thing for me.
i feel like i’m going off topic. ok……
so yeah. interracial is inevitable like i said. but yes, when it comes down to marriage. there is the whole deal with “mendidik” and both partners have to adapt to each other’s life, traditions, culture. it’s hard. and it’s challenging. so i guess pple end up sticking to their own kind to save that time and effort into teaching one another. my brother married a white girl. and he’s STILL teaching her and it’s been 5 yrs.
keep on commenting! i love comments.
haha didnt know u’re into lame jokes. well i’m pretty much lame. angst up frustration of becoming an uncle, keke
yes i remember the question. i bet you get that alot too eh. well you’re back in sg, you can try try dating some malay guys perhaps.
but do the peeps in US give u the clueless look about ur ethnicity? u dun look like mexican nor blacks
i observe most of the time, those interracial couples … those marrying a muslim, the other party will convert to Islam. thats cute, 5 years and still learning. well its good, at least she’s still willing to learn
hewo…
i’m not that hard to please lah. if a guy can constantly keep me laughing with good/bad/lame/corny/awesome jokes, he’s set…if u can make a girls laugh, i believe everything is ok lah eh….maybe i’m in my own world…chet
yeah i get that alot…but like i explained in that ridiculously LONG entry; it’s not that big of a diff lah eh….singapore is small. limited number of things to do but nonetheless, u can make it interesting. date mly guys? tried lah dahling….dind’t exactly work out.
i’ve been out on a few outings with a guy who’s an actor with Mediacorp …and last dec, i went out on a few dates with a PhD student from NUS….yah; 2 diff. ends of the spectrum. the showbiz one was “intimidated” by me. even said it (or maybe he was still hung up on his lesbian-turned straight-for-him ex-gf) and the PhD one…thought (or rather the vibe i get from him) i was too american. either way, i’m screwed. how? u tell me. so i’ve given up lah. saper nak. boleh cari i. i’m not going to go out and there and be on some mission.
as for friends in the US, they know that i’m asian. they know that i’m muslim. what i like abt americans is that they (most of them) look past racial lines…they’re too involved in the “lovey-dovey” part that to them, love knows no race/ethnicity. for me, love ni merepek. but i’m happy that they could care less if ur white/black/yellow/browngreen/blue/red…they’re curious as to my culture and ask questions but it’s never an issue. senang kan?
haiya…willing to learn and actually performing it are 2 diff. things. while she’s learning, reading an dasking questions…she doesn’t actually PERFORM any of the duties of a muslim wife. fasting is as far as she goes….susahlah. maybe it’ll take more time eh?
so you like a guy who can tickle your bones. i think there’s plenty around in singapore. well maybe not engineers. they’re boring … keke. hey wait i’m an engineer! haha
well maybe the malays you dated cannot make it …. got try those from SDU? hehe :-p
hmmm looks like you dating local lads is not turning out well. yeah i guess dun push-it. maybe not just yet
question: well in the states you’re considered ‘unique’. sorang jer melayu there. do they treat the same for other norm asian there. the cheenas or indians?
well she perhaps might change (ur sis in law) when maybe she have kids
Childhood crushes. Well with its kind of easy to find your old friends again especially in this Digital Era. Cari ajer kat friendster insyallah boleh jumpa. Heh. I found most of my crushes. Haha. It feels different when you meet them as adults.
Anyway about interracial relationship. Its not an issue actually but consider the religion aspect it could be quite complicated. Especially when you have families whom have very hardcore roots. They may not be open enough to understand why you would want to switch religion just for love?
Marriage is not about two persons rather its about the two families and just like what you said there is access baggage that needs to be taken off.
well if its meant to be, then i’ll meet her. i wun go looking la. i do have frenster, we’ll see
yes this entry i didn’t dwell much on religion aspect. i know thats one big hiccup in such interracial relationships
well its like you’re saying we’re marrying the family, not the gurl … keke
first of all, is that you in the pic? omg, u’re so cute la, like a girl! :P crushes were so common back in pri sch yeah? too bad i didn’t have any! hahaha…
and yes, sepet is a good movie! i esp like the part where the chinese fella started to dance wildly to some melayu song, hahahaha. i think gubra’s not bad either, but the girl’s character was starting to grate on my nerves by then, hehe. haven’t seen mukhsin tho.
as for the interracial issue, personally, i think i can safely say that i’m rather color-blind. i’d like to think that i have no issues with it, and neither do my parents (the last i asked them, that is), but no budging on the religious aspect tho- he will have to accept Islam wholeheartedly.
but then again, as you said, there is a lot of baggage that comes with any interracial relationships. but i guess i won’t be able to give a good opinion on it until i’ve had one myself. :)
and sha… dun limit ur possibilities! who knows… the right one might be some hot white chick! ;)
what you got no crushes … noooooo. too busy with studying ker or really no one took to your liking?
yeah thats pretty me in pri sch! haha
i remember that scene, the first early part of the movie, he danced. the gurl is adorable to me. no wonder the director chose her. maybe for guys we like these sweet cutesy type, for girls maybe she made u loya, keke
your parents quite the open mind. well i do imagine you to be what u commented. i myself have been in one, and it does kinda ‘gets’ in the way at times
hot white chick? anyone in mind? :-p
this is random….on ur main page..where u have bday countdowns…hairol’s bday…wouldn’t he be turning 23…cuz i’m an 84 baby too and last i checked, i’m turning 23 :)
unless u did that on purpose lah…hahahahah
my dear, in 2008 he will be 24 if he’s born in 1984 … i use calculator u know, so cannot be wrong :-p
yes i understand….2008…24…
ni kan 2007…rite?
if 2008…should be 151 + 365 = 516days
rite? or am i totally missing ur point?
haha you even counted …
i’ve this script that handles the countdown. it should be correct or is it i input the wrong values
ahh tak per la, as long i dun forget their b’day
Maybe you should look for her!
nah dude … if its meant to be, i’ll bump into her :-)
“I like smelling her in the morning.” Muahahaha!!! :D
OK seriously, what is the big deal with people frowning upon inter-racial relationships? They should be thrown into the sea (with rocks tied to their ankles!) because it’s just a stupid, archaic mentality!
Religion aside, inter-racial relationships should be encouraged because it allows us to learn about other races and not be stuck in our shells, looking inwards and not at the possibility that other races have for us in the quest for the advancement and benefit of our own race.
i think most guys like to smell girls, esp their hairs … shiok!! do i sound like a cheekopek now? hahahaha!!!
spoken like a true future PAP minister. u got my vote!
Me? With the PAP satans?? I’d rather sell my soul to the devil!! Muahahaha!!
hahahaha.. bukan main kasar bahasa :-P
join la
but if you join PAP … “with great power, comes great responsibility”
Second coming up kappa ?
hhehehe.. yep its a good movie bro.. hehehe.. childhood crush eh bro..
i still remember during pri sch daes.. terpesona sgt ngan budak cine ni.. Karen namer nye..
Hhehe.. tapi dgr2 skrang dia sudah berumah tangga wif 2 sons. begitu cepat mase berlalu.. Haizz..
inter-racial.. it possible kalo kedua belah pihak tu samer2 compromise each other. tad wudnt be a prob. tapi slalu nye religion yg dipertengahkn bile sebut ttg inter-racial r’ship.. haizz.
wah she sure fast worker, dah dua. you ever told her?
true most of the issues comes when religion comes into light
I love this movie. Nice sharing of your experience. Hehehe…
my pleasure
uncle sha, u’re not e only slow one. in fact, i’m slower! i havent watched all 3 of her movies!!! but ur entry has inspired me to go on a movie marathon redi ni. hahahz!
and hrmz.. so sweet of u to share ur childhood tale. i have one too! had this superduperextradeep crush on dis cute chinese boy, and apparently it wuz so obvious tt sum of my pri schmates still tease me abt it til today!! hahahz… thinkin abt it, i used to like chinese boys oni back in pri sch, cuz all e malays were too irritating/eksyen clever. wahahah
you tortise betul la missy. yeah do watch it. overall an ok movie :-)
fwah your frens still tease you about it now. dahsyat crush ke ni. you know what happen to the boy crush of yours? dah besar hensem tak?
:)
i found out recently that he now lives sumwhere near my place. kalau jodoh tak ke mana?? yeah right. he’s blissfully attached, and still thin n scrawny like before. oh, and his hair is still silky-straight too! tetap cute.. wahahah…
and i s’pose inter-racial relationships are jez a mark of the evolvement of human ties. as e world gets conveniently linked up, humans develop alongside this progress and this is thus translated into their own personal lives.
cedebah. in other words, anithin’s possible. it gets convenuently so.
i love sepet!
and shah, do you know how adorable you were back in primary 3. ;)
sepet is good
adorable then … cheekopek now … haha
haha, two of my ex-es were chinese. one is a typical ahbeng. very good, he taught me billiard, and cantopop songs. :)
yeah you told me! steady bom pit pit lah u
no wonder your ka-ra-oki bagus
love aint no boundaries… whether when it comes to religion, race and color…
macam lyrics … nice
yes yes!! now that u mentioned it, i remembered i used to like this one chinese boy in primary 5!! was so crazy for him! everytime he’s around, hati cair! kinda stupid when i think about it.
anyway, i suggest u go look for her. publish it in the straits times.hehehe
awww … does yusri knows. keke
straits times? haha, no thanks hor
i dont mind having a bf of another race. one of my biggest crushes was on my best friend in p6, a guy named chua eng chang darren (WAH FULL NAME MASIH INGAT! HAHHA), and later on i continued to have crushes on chinese guys. Also got one indian fella i had a thing for all the way in JC2 :) For me its more of the character la hor, senang cakap.
you want to date my bangla bro?
interracial is the way to go. just like me and fiona xie.
we go along well. see?
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA
I nearly choke on my banana when I read this one!!!
yaya papaya betul dia ner :-p
aww……
soooo cute SHA!!!
ure crush n ure pic….
code 10 hair gel ar???
haiz..those were e GATZby-LESS dayz….
*in retro mode*
:P
yupz!!
sepet n gubra is bth a touchn stry tat made me tear a lot
somehw wit my interracial backgrnd n blood i cudnt agree more n TUNE-in to e stryline n plot.
i hav yt to c mukhsin though…
cute then … still cute now? haha
my hair natural like dat .. keke
glad you love the movie!
ouh! i hav maaany childhood crush wit all races summore!
ahahah!
in poly i hav a crush n bth a mly n chinese guy
i found bck MOSTLY of my pri sch n poly “crushes” thru friendster…
*BLISS*
bt somehw most hav move on wit life.
pernah approach them tak?
tak, i fear rejection.
it hurt cus i xperience it a couple of time…
BAAAAH.. i just comment pangjang2 and it all got lost when the wireless decided to go haywire on me.. haiz.. but anyway.. i think im gonna post my opinion on my blog.. so watch out for it yeah;).. tehehehe..
cute entry you made on your blog
people visit http://coolfrogsraa.blogspot.com/
Hey! You look so much like Aisha!
really? thats what most people said!
first first….whatever lah ur script…i think u salah enter code tak? hahah ni 2007 tau, sayang….hahaha
ok ok not answer the other comment….yes i like a guy who can tickle my bones…ALOT. where got plenty? very few one….if got oso, they’re taken. chet.
hahahah lame engineer jokes. i like. dunch worry. i can take lame engineer jokes. my brother AND father are engineers (BOTH mechanical). i get plenty of their lame jokes heheh. what’s more jokes from one more engineer kan? hehehehehe
err…SDU? what’s that…if u havent noticed…i’m not really up to date with acronyms…NSFW…SDU…WTF?!?! hahah
and yeah..i no luck one ah…maybe i’m cursed….choiiiiii touch wood hahah. entahlah…maybe those 2 weren’t just for me.
as far as my sister in law…we’ll jsut have to wait and see eh? they’re not planning to have kids anytime soon…so for now, i can only stare at baby clothes. cant wait to buy them…
as far as beign considered “unique”…not really lah. i mean i sually get classified with the “filipinos” much to my dislike. but i do raise a few eyebrows when i say i’m “singaporean”. i mean we’re like a rare breed over there. hahah so sometimes i get classified as “exotic”…itu shiok sendiri…hehehehehe….as far as treatment from other asians….abt the same lah…i mean asians are asians to mat salehs…..so to them, we have mata sepet and yellow skin. i’m considered diff. cuz i’m more brown and my eyes don’t disappear when i smile…like that….i don’t consider it racial profiling..more like racial stereotype…y’know?
i think my script has gone bonkers … i’ll look into it. dah malas scripting
keke ok i’ll keep on a lookout for funny engineers. got plenty actually, but i dunno them la. you know like I know Paris Hilton, its just that she dunno me … YET. muahaha
wat u dunno SDU. well since u just grad, you’ll be getting a letter from SDU. its a local dating establishment by the gahmen to pair up local grad couples. their genius mentality that grad couples produces cleverer babies. only grads can apply
awww dun worry, if want, can play with my niece, but seposen every minute. i bet ur bro & sis in law will have a pretty baby. campur-campur peh
well good wat u’re kinda exotic. yeah i aso agree on the mata sepet. i’m gonna sound so racial. i usually poke fun of my cheena fren by giving them a rubber band. they would ask … then i say “hey do u know that the rubber band can cover ur eyes when u smile”
i think so lah…ur script bonkers…
haha ok ur paris hilton joke…tak kelakar…
well just so happened…i watched the news tonite and they had a whole snippet on SDU…social development unit…seriously, it sounds sooooo bad. it’s like those pple have no social skills…”social development”…hahah “well sir, ur not social enuf…join SDU…we’ll develop ur social skills”…kanasai. but it’s only for grads?!?! serious ah?!?! how stupid is that!!!
eh i want to play with ur niece!! seposen/minit?? cannnnnn. i am dying for child interaction seh…i love kids…can buy clothes for her or not? hehehehehe.
campur-campur? err…asalkan my niece/nephew has my sis-in-law’s eyes, nose, skin color, hair, and my mother’s figure….ok set…basically looking nothing like my brother. hahahah so bad ah…hehehehe
hahah KINDA exotic?!?! like wat seh…someone once told me i look like “kacokkan” (sp?). i was like “really meh”…kembang lah i. ahahaha. haiya…racial jokes crack me up…
well its a hit and miss on the jokes la, heh
SDU on the news? oh my, something big must be brewing
i think my niece lacks clothes, dah besar … you can buy all u want for her
haha your bro tak hensem ke. tak baik seh. yeah hidung mancung bagus jugak eh. kita2 leper hidung
kacokkan? aper tu … first time i hear. hidung kembang besar eh
if u like racial jokes, hav u seen brit 70′s show “mind your language” damn hilarious
ya it was on the news last nite at 930. quite a long segment! about how they’re regulating laws now so that dating agencies are now to be licensed so that they’re “bonafide” and ple can trust them while tryign to “find” love. aper sak…
ur niece can wait or not? don’t too besar. i buy clothes from US. singapore got limited selection. US got MANY MANY MANY hahahaah i love buying baby clothes hehehe wait tunngu tau, one more mth i balik US. i post balik hahahah
hahah my brother where got hensem..then again he’s my abang…and i don’t happen to think my siblings are lawa. whether other pple think he’s lawa…that’s a whole diff. story lah eh? hahahaha
kacokkan..i think like…mixed blood lah…like i don’t look solely malay…i think. where got hidung kembang…siao. as if my hidung not belambak already. hahaha
actually i LOVE “mind ur language”….jolly good….HAHAHAHAH we used to watch that show as a family. and we’d laugh for hours….
OH MY GOD.. i get that too.. its no different in australia.. racial-profiling is a sad sad thing, some people just need to get out more and stop living in their lil hermit holes.
wherever u go, it’s gonna happen lah…
they’re not exactly close-minded but more like sheltered. these australians/americans…their country is sooo big than they don’t even know everything abt their country..let alone other countries…so yeah…i told a guy once i was from singapore and he asked “isn’t that an island off the coast of china?” not exactly, sayang.
so i dunno…along with ignorance comes stereotypes/racial profiling…u can’t really help it. i wish people wouldn’t b so ignorant..but what to do?
omg..u’re had been such a cutie since the age of 7…
And i still remember my pri sch crush name too..haha but mine started when i’m P 3 or 4..
HA!
so wat happened to ur crush? u know?
am i still cute now? haha
ya.. i’m still in contact with my crush.. we “found” each other in friendster then on MSN.
“seperated” since we left pri sch then i bump into him few mths back..and i was so excited..
aiyo.. u nv see i type.. “cute since age of 7 meh” Hehe
thats good u’re still in contact … DOM knows? keke
aww thanks, a cute uncle! yeaaa you made my day
you qoute:
The questions now is ‘Does color really matters in this day of age’?
Well in my opinion, although there’s more Asian parents are more open about who their sons and daughter are dating but ultimately they don’t really like their children marrying outside of their race … that’s a sad but a true fact of life.
I still believe in interracial relationship, but with its baggage comes alot of complicated issues like religion, parents blessing and culture indifference.
Well just hope I find a gadis Melayu then eh … then all will be fine and dandy
i qoute:
:( u know i know….