The Malays in Kelantan.

The Malays in Kelantan are by nature very creative. They are excellent weavers, wood carvers, goldsmith, silversmith, batik producers, kite making, boat making, and other creative abilities. Just look at the beautiful gifts created by their nimble fingers for the bride and grooms at engagements, weddings and other arrays of beautiful door gifts that greet you as you made your exit at wedding invitations.

In general the Malays are very easy to please; soft spoken; helpful and possess a very pleasant disposition. But they are very sensitive and are easily irritated and normally cannot tolerate demeaning remarks about them or their family members.

The Kelantan men, are at one time, very famous for “kapak bungkus” which is used to teach a lesson to those who deviate or display an improper conduct or behavior which are considered ill-mannered by Kelantan standard.

Note: Kapak bungkus is a small axe. The blade only measures about one inch but the the handle is quiet heavy and can kill if correctly used. It is usually wrapped in yellow cloth.

The Men in Kelantan are fearless and are very passionate about their women. They are well protected and are not allowed to find their own mates. The women cannot choose their own marriage partners without family blessings. So if a girl eloped with her boyfriend, a “kapak bungkus” will soon land on the boy’s head.

The most scaring part of this teaching a lesson is however not done by the family members themselves, but by paid “kepala kapak bungkus: whose work is only to do the job and as soon as the job is done, the “kepala’ will disappear across the border and nothing can be done about it.

Arrogance

It is very easy to please the Kelatanese. Just be humble, and never display an air of arrogance or “Agah” or “Gaah”, be it in speech or in behavior. Always keep a low profile, even if you are holding the highest position in the corporate, public or private sector.

People like Pak Lah, our Honourable Prime Minister have that acceptable traits liked by the Kelantanese. Even the Menteri Besar of Kelantan likes him.

Tolerable traits are simplicity and sincerity.

Always maintain a simple life style and be sincere in your dealings. The Malays are also by nature very sincere in their dealings and do not take easily to those who are out to fool them. That is the reason why the Chinese are not welcome in Kelantan, unless they assimilate with the Kelantanese way of life.

It is not uncommon to see Chinese adopting similar behavior to the Malays in Kelantan. They adopt their culture, dialect and do not speak their own mother tongue when they are in the company of Malays even with their own family.

The Chinese can easily be mistaken for a Malay in more ways than one. When I first came back to Kelantan, in the late nineties, I had to do some minor repairs to my house. Although the contractors are Chinese ( I knew that later) I cannot differentiate from one to the other. They all look alike. Their way of dressing, some even wear the “semutars” or the Malay men’s headgear made from sarung. Their speaking and body language, all brought out the similarities in them and the best of all I remember was, they will response “insyaallah” to my requiests.

I find these very amusing and do not know whether I am talking to a Malay or a Chinese.