'Keling' Stays in the Kamus

An Indian Muslim association known as Angkatan Pelapor India Muslim (Apim) once filed a suit on Dec 29, 2006 against DBP and its director-general. The suit is meant for a declaration that DBP had failed in its statutory duty and responsibility for allowing the use of the word “keling” in Kamus Dewan, 3^rd Edition. They claimed that the variant meaning and metaphor of the word were a derogatory reference to Malaysian Indians, and were shameful, insulting and degrading to the Indian Muslim community. The examples included in the Kamus Dewan are such as “keling mabuk todi” to connote one fond of talking nonsense, and “keling karam” which means one who talks noisily. What they seek for is a specific performance for the words to be dropped off the Kamus Dewan, and also from names of villages, buildings, resort, and roads widely used in Malaysia. Unfortunate for them, High Court Judge Justice Lau Bee Lan dismissed their appeal on the ground that Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution, which provides for the right of citizens to non-discrimination, only applied to individuals, not association.

The word “keling” was originated from the name of a kingdom of Kalinga, and it has been used not to specifically describe inhabitants of Kalinga, but more to describe south Indians. The first reference to the word “keling” occurs in Sejarah Melayu when Raja Chulan, the emperor of China is referred to as “Raja Keling”. There is also a story about Hang Nadim’s visit to “Benua Keling” which means a visit to India.

The Dutch ‘Dagregister’ also referred to Indian inhabitants of Melaka as “Clings” or “Klingers”. Contemporary British writings also refer “Klings” to immigrants from Madras and the Coromandel coast. Generally, “Kling” was referred to as a general term for all the people of Hindustan, and for the country itself.

The “Klings” also has possessed praises from Isabella Bird who in a famous travelogue of the Malay Peninsula entitled “The Golden Chernonese” written in 1879, has described the “Klings” as natives of Southern India. She stated in her writing, “Among twelve thousand natives of India who have been attracted to Singapore, and among all the mingled foreign nationalities, the Klings from the Coromandel coast are the most attractive in appearance, and since there is no check on the immigration of their women, one sees the unveiled Kling beauties in great numbers”.

So let's not mislead the meaning, and lets live a happy life, Malaysian ways :)

P.S. I made some comments but decided not to post it publicly for certain reasons. Let the comments buried in my head, and my head alone.

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