http://deadpoetscave.com/2006/06/the-silence-is-broken/
Let’s make it clear for once and all. If you happen to read this, pass the message to your friends as well. Or if you have a blog, refer about it as well. Whatever it is, make sure this piece of important news travels.
“Ahpunehneh” is not a proper word.
It is not a Tamil word. Nor it is an English word. Nor it is a Greek word. Hell, it is NOT even a word. It is gibberish of the purest kind. Yes, yes. I hear all the gasping and “Did you hear that?!” and “Is it true?”. Yes it’s true. If there is one gibberish that is to be flushed down the toilet, this is it.
I am tired. Tired beyond words to explain what this gibberish has done. I am pretty much sure almost all my Indian counterparts will agree. Been called “Ahpunehneh” in a country that calls itself happily multiracial. There is nothing happy about this. I now take it upon myself to give all my clueless Singaporeans a much needed enlightment on this. Read and read well. And pass it on. Because the next time i hear or read that blasted gibberish, I won’t be patient. Anymore.
It makes me cringe just to think of the gibberish, much less typing it. But what has to be done has to be done. I can’t stress enough. “Ahpunehneh” is not a word. It’s a disgracing gibberish. I once read a comment on MrBrown’s blog that ahpunehneh is a form of respect for elder brother. Form of respect my ass is more like it.
But still, let’s autopsy this stinking mess. This gibberish can be broken down into 2 parts; Ahpu and nehneh. “Ahpu” looks and sounds like the mutated clone of an olden Indian name “Apu”. The name “Apu” was and is in use in India. But I doubt if anyone has been named Apu in Singapore for the past 20years or so. ‘Cause, Apu is, after all, a very old name. And no sane Singaporean parent would want to name their son something that has been used as a racist remark.
The second part, “nehneh”. Just what the hell is this? It is no word in the Tamil language. Yes. And stop arguing that it is. ‘Cause this is my mother tongue language and not yours. Just because you know a couple of Tamil words and can somewhat mispronounce them doesn’t mean you know this language. The nearest I can place this gibberish is to the Tamil word “Annan”. “Annan” in Tamil means elder brother. We all know that most languages are bound to have these 2 kind of forms; the formal written form and the informal spoken form. For example, “relax” is the formal written form and “relac” is the informal spoken form. In this case “Annan” is the is formal written form. And the way it is said in informal way is “Annah”.
Stop. Before you start agruing that it’s the same. It is not. It is not said in the highly ridiculous singalong tone you use. Another thing is, in chinese you can say papa, mama, poh poh. You can say the word twice and it would still mean you are calling you dad, mom and grandmom. This doesn’t apply to Tamil. Shortening a word then saying it twice doesn’t work in Tamil. Therefore shortening “Annah” to “neh” to “nehneh” is not correct. Don’t think you twist and turn my mother tongue language and claim it’s ok to do so. ‘Cause i will bitch-slap you. So my guess is, there was some guy called Apu in the earlier days of Singapore. And people chopped, pounded and minced the word “Annah” and mutated it into “neh” and postfixed it to “Apu” and voila! You have a gibberish that is known nationwide used to address all Indians.
Now that I have done the autopsy, lets proceed to other things that is related to this gibberish. My dear fellow Singaporeans, you look fucking retarded saying things in a singalong manner and claiming that’s how we sound. There was once I was at Dover station with my group of newly made friends from class. Then one of them said a few sentences in a high singalong tone and weird ass accent. Then started to laugh. The rest didnt know how to respond, because for a starter, this was done in front of a Indian girl. Me. I just looked at him and started to double over with laughter. After catching my breath, I told him “Did you know how fucking retarded you looked and sounded just now dude?! OH MY GOD!!” and promptly went into fits of laughter again. Red faced, he defended himself by saying “But that’s how you all sound”. I looked him in the eye and asked “Do i sound like that?”. “Err, no..” was his reply. “Does S(another Indian classmate of ours) sound like that?”. “Err..no la..But that’s how they sound in the movies”. “Which part of the movie?”. “The song lor”. This, is the highest form of stupidness i have encountered in my life. A song is supposed to be in a singalong manner, no? So for the record, we don’t talk in a ’singalong’ manner. It’s just your inability to understand a song is a song and doesn’t apply to talking as well. You people definitely don’t talk like Jay Chou or Sammi Cheng or any Chinese artiste’s singing. It’s the same. So quit it.
Next. Repeat after me. Brown is not black. Black is not brown. We have people from different walks of life and somehow in this nationwide disorder, almost all chinese cannot differentiate brown from black. Once again another example that happened to me. This happened in the first year of uni. After one of the lectures, i was waiting at the back of the lecture room, for a couple of my clique guys. This part of the lecture room was not lit but rest assured the rest of the room was. So it is understood the part i was standing wasn’t pitch black. Then another guy from another clique, who was standing near me, turned and said this “Hey TC, why you stand there? You so black, still stand there. Cannot see you lor. *Insert laughter*” The following was the connversation that happened between us after he said this. All my replies were said in a deadpan face and tone.
Me : Now that’s a pity. How long have you been having this disability?
Him : Huh? What disability? What you talking?
Me : Ya what. This color-blindness disability of yours. Have you been having it since young? Never got it checked ah?
Him : *clearly in a confused state* Color blindness?! Where got? Don’t have what..
Me : Yes. It is color blindness. You can’t differentiate brown from black.
Him : *Finally understanding what i was getting at* Oh..aiya..I thought what..
Me : Seriously, you ought to have it checked lor. Can be quite dangerous.
Him : *laughs* How can it be dangerous..
Me : It will be, when i punch you. (Note to everyone. I am not exaggerating. I am capable of throwing a punch to the face)
Him : Hehe, sorry la. Brown and black the same what.
Me : What’s the color of my TShirt?
Him : Black lor.
Me : And my skin?
Him : Hehehe. Brown..ok la ok la..sorry..
I maybe perceived as an anal retentive person in the conversation above. But I don’t appreciate called “black”. Simply because I am not. I am chocolate brown. The bottom line is brown is not black. Black is not brown.
Third. Holding your noses when an Indian comes near you. Some of the older Indians and India nationals (these are 2 different kind of people) adore their coconut or jasmine hair oils. It have been their practise for centuries and just because you can’t stand it, they are not gonna quit. It’s the same how an Amercian will first react to durian. Do you as a Singaporean give up eating durian just because someone unused to it claims it’s smelly? No i suppose. That been said, not all Indians use these oils. As much as I have observed, modern image conscious Singaporean Indians, don’t use it. So it’s unfair to automatically hold your nose when any Indian comes near you. What are you, a no brainer robot? It’s not like every ah pek, ah mah, uncle and auntie I come across is sweet smelling. Some reek of sweat and body odour. Which is much more worse than coconut and jasmine oil if you ask me.
Fourth. Indian girls and ladies wear a “dot” on our forehead. The proper name is “pottu” but forget it. You are still gonna call it a dot. It is not there for infrared or bluetooth purposes like how one sms from my poly fren claimed to. I am still pissed.
It’s sad to let you all know that this racist behaviour comes mostly from Chinese(not as if you guys don’t know it in the first place). Which is why i can only write about what I have encountered. Just because this race forms the majority of Singapore doesn’t mean it’s superior. Simply because, it’s not. And I don’t know how long more i will be patient to these kind of racist treatment. Of course, 90% of my friends are chinese. Not all are like this. It’s just too contradictory to claim ourselves as a multiracial country. Yes we have different races and we have one whole day called Racial Harmony Day and we live in relative harmony. But that is only possible because people like me, who have been subjected to racist treatment since young, prefer to keep quiet. But how long do you think we will keep quiet? Patience is only this much. I seriously had enough of all your “ahpunehneh” rubbish, holding noses and all racist acts. And parents, if your kid points and says “ahpunehneh”, correct him/her. Don’t you freaking ignore it or worse encourage it. If i see one more kid look in my general direction and say “ahpunehneh”, i will throttle him/her til he can’t remember the rubbish ever again. I swear i will do it. Because i had enough.
Now that i have said all, whoever reads this, if you are Singaporean, and have done any of the above mentioned or know of people who done or does any of the above, read this entry and read it well. ‘Cause i don’t like to repeat. Print this out, distribute or mention it in your blog. I don’t care. I just want this to gibberish to stop. Because me and my Indian race had enough.
And all my Indian counterparts, whether I know you or not, if any of the above have happened to you, I feel your frustration. Share with me what were your experiences. Everyone else who wants to say something. Go ahead. But do it in a civilised way. You have been warned.
Let’s make it clear for once and all. If you happen to read this, pass the message to your friends as well. Or if you have a blog, refer about it as well. Whatever it is, make sure this piece of important news travels.
“Ahpunehneh” is not a proper word.
It is not a Tamil word. Nor it is an English word. Nor it is a Greek word. Hell, it is NOT even a word. It is gibberish of the purest kind. Yes, yes. I hear all the gasping and “Did you hear that?!” and “Is it true?”. Yes it’s true. If there is one gibberish that is to be flushed down the toilet, this is it.
I am tired. Tired beyond words to explain what this gibberish has done. I am pretty much sure almost all my Indian counterparts will agree. Been called “Ahpunehneh” in a country that calls itself happily multiracial. There is nothing happy about this. I now take it upon myself to give all my clueless Singaporeans a much needed enlightment on this. Read and read well. And pass it on. Because the next time i hear or read that blasted gibberish, I won’t be patient. Anymore.
It makes me cringe just to think of the gibberish, much less typing it. But what has to be done has to be done. I can’t stress enough. “Ahpunehneh” is not a word. It’s a disgracing gibberish. I once read a comment on MrBrown’s blog that ahpunehneh is a form of respect for elder brother. Form of respect my ass is more like it.
But still, let’s autopsy this stinking mess. This gibberish can be broken down into 2 parts; Ahpu and nehneh. “Ahpu” looks and sounds like the mutated clone of an olden Indian name “Apu”. The name “Apu” was and is in use in India. But I doubt if anyone has been named Apu in Singapore for the past 20years or so. ‘Cause, Apu is, after all, a very old name. And no sane Singaporean parent would want to name their son something that has been used as a racist remark.
The second part, “nehneh”. Just what the hell is this? It is no word in the Tamil language. Yes. And stop arguing that it is. ‘Cause this is my mother tongue language and not yours. Just because you know a couple of Tamil words and can somewhat mispronounce them doesn’t mean you know this language. The nearest I can place this gibberish is to the Tamil word “Annan”. “Annan” in Tamil means elder brother. We all know that most languages are bound to have these 2 kind of forms; the formal written form and the informal spoken form. For example, “relax” is the formal written form and “relac” is the informal spoken form. In this case “Annan” is the is formal written form. And the way it is said in informal way is “Annah”.
Stop. Before you start agruing that it’s the same. It is not. It is not said in the highly ridiculous singalong tone you use. Another thing is, in chinese you can say papa, mama, poh poh. You can say the word twice and it would still mean you are calling you dad, mom and grandmom. This doesn’t apply to Tamil. Shortening a word then saying it twice doesn’t work in Tamil. Therefore shortening “Annah” to “neh” to “nehneh” is not correct. Don’t think you twist and turn my mother tongue language and claim it’s ok to do so. ‘Cause i will bitch-slap you. So my guess is, there was some guy called Apu in the earlier days of Singapore. And people chopped, pounded and minced the word “Annah” and mutated it into “neh” and postfixed it to “Apu” and voila! You have a gibberish that is known nationwide used to address all Indians.
Now that I have done the autopsy, lets proceed to other things that is related to this gibberish. My dear fellow Singaporeans, you look fucking retarded saying things in a singalong manner and claiming that’s how we sound. There was once I was at Dover station with my group of newly made friends from class. Then one of them said a few sentences in a high singalong tone and weird ass accent. Then started to laugh. The rest didnt know how to respond, because for a starter, this was done in front of a Indian girl. Me. I just looked at him and started to double over with laughter. After catching my breath, I told him “Did you know how fucking retarded you looked and sounded just now dude?! OH MY GOD!!” and promptly went into fits of laughter again. Red faced, he defended himself by saying “But that’s how you all sound”. I looked him in the eye and asked “Do i sound like that?”. “Err, no..” was his reply. “Does S(another Indian classmate of ours) sound like that?”. “Err..no la..But that’s how they sound in the movies”. “Which part of the movie?”. “The song lor”. This, is the highest form of stupidness i have encountered in my life. A song is supposed to be in a singalong manner, no? So for the record, we don’t talk in a ’singalong’ manner. It’s just your inability to understand a song is a song and doesn’t apply to talking as well. You people definitely don’t talk like Jay Chou or Sammi Cheng or any Chinese artiste’s singing. It’s the same. So quit it.
Next. Repeat after me. Brown is not black. Black is not brown. We have people from different walks of life and somehow in this nationwide disorder, almost all chinese cannot differentiate brown from black. Once again another example that happened to me. This happened in the first year of uni. After one of the lectures, i was waiting at the back of the lecture room, for a couple of my clique guys. This part of the lecture room was not lit but rest assured the rest of the room was. So it is understood the part i was standing wasn’t pitch black. Then another guy from another clique, who was standing near me, turned and said this “Hey TC, why you stand there? You so black, still stand there. Cannot see you lor. *Insert laughter*” The following was the connversation that happened between us after he said this. All my replies were said in a deadpan face and tone.
Me : Now that’s a pity. How long have you been having this disability?
Him : Huh? What disability? What you talking?
Me : Ya what. This color-blindness disability of yours. Have you been having it since young? Never got it checked ah?
Him : *clearly in a confused state* Color blindness?! Where got? Don’t have what..
Me : Yes. It is color blindness. You can’t differentiate brown from black.
Him : *Finally understanding what i was getting at* Oh..aiya..I thought what..
Me : Seriously, you ought to have it checked lor. Can be quite dangerous.
Him : *laughs* How can it be dangerous..
Me : It will be, when i punch you. (Note to everyone. I am not exaggerating. I am capable of throwing a punch to the face)
Him : Hehe, sorry la. Brown and black the same what.
Me : What’s the color of my TShirt?
Him : Black lor.
Me : And my skin?
Him : Hehehe. Brown..ok la ok la..sorry..
I maybe perceived as an anal retentive person in the conversation above. But I don’t appreciate called “black”. Simply because I am not. I am chocolate brown. The bottom line is brown is not black. Black is not brown.
Third. Holding your noses when an Indian comes near you. Some of the older Indians and India nationals (these are 2 different kind of people) adore their coconut or jasmine hair oils. It have been their practise for centuries and just because you can’t stand it, they are not gonna quit. It’s the same how an Amercian will first react to durian. Do you as a Singaporean give up eating durian just because someone unused to it claims it’s smelly? No i suppose. That been said, not all Indians use these oils. As much as I have observed, modern image conscious Singaporean Indians, don’t use it. So it’s unfair to automatically hold your nose when any Indian comes near you. What are you, a no brainer robot? It’s not like every ah pek, ah mah, uncle and auntie I come across is sweet smelling. Some reek of sweat and body odour. Which is much more worse than coconut and jasmine oil if you ask me.
Fourth. Indian girls and ladies wear a “dot” on our forehead. The proper name is “pottu” but forget it. You are still gonna call it a dot. It is not there for infrared or bluetooth purposes like how one sms from my poly fren claimed to. I am still pissed.
It’s sad to let you all know that this racist behaviour comes mostly from Chinese(not as if you guys don’t know it in the first place). Which is why i can only write about what I have encountered. Just because this race forms the majority of Singapore doesn’t mean it’s superior. Simply because, it’s not. And I don’t know how long more i will be patient to these kind of racist treatment. Of course, 90% of my friends are chinese. Not all are like this. It’s just too contradictory to claim ourselves as a multiracial country. Yes we have different races and we have one whole day called Racial Harmony Day and we live in relative harmony. But that is only possible because people like me, who have been subjected to racist treatment since young, prefer to keep quiet. But how long do you think we will keep quiet? Patience is only this much. I seriously had enough of all your “ahpunehneh” rubbish, holding noses and all racist acts. And parents, if your kid points and says “ahpunehneh”, correct him/her. Don’t you freaking ignore it or worse encourage it. If i see one more kid look in my general direction and say “ahpunehneh”, i will throttle him/her til he can’t remember the rubbish ever again. I swear i will do it. Because i had enough.
Now that i have said all, whoever reads this, if you are Singaporean, and have done any of the above mentioned or know of people who done or does any of the above, read this entry and read it well. ‘Cause i don’t like to repeat. Print this out, distribute or mention it in your blog. I don’t care. I just want this to gibberish to stop. Because me and my Indian race had enough.
And all my Indian counterparts, whether I know you or not, if any of the above have happened to you, I feel your frustration. Share with me what were your experiences. Everyone else who wants to say something. Go ahead. But do it in a civilised way. You have been warned.
