Written by Soraya Sunitra Kee Xiang Yin.
My life is stuffed to bursting with questions people ask me. For instance, why do I watch the sometimes depressing Japanese anime Ayashi No Ceres when all it does is make me miserable? Or why do I support Chelsea and not Arsenal or Manchester United? I've also been asked why I listen to bands with names as obscure as Switchfoot ("Switch what What foot?") or Funeral for a Friend ("Aiyo, so choi one you ...!")
But the question I am always asked is the one about my name.
My name is Soraya Sunitra Kee Xiang Yin. One of my teachers thought I was Thai. (A few months later, this same teacher read my name out as Seroja.) Another teacher thought I had Malay, Chinese and Indian blood. An ex-classmate from my old school thought I was Japanese and started calling me Sukiyaki. Some people hear it as Sarah. But what I am asked almost every time my name is announced is: "Are you Malay?"
I've endured nicknames like bunga raya, hari raya, jalan raya, kad raya, pasar raya ... you name it, I've heard it. And those are the tame ones. The chinese nicknames can be downright rude. When some people pronounce my name as "Seraya" and I tell them it's "So", not "Se", they start laughing because "So" in Cantonese (sounding more like "sor") means crazy. I've been called "so-jie" which means "crazy elder sister" and So-raya" - "crazy Raya".
Let me clear the air once and for all. I am 100% Chinese, and I have no relatives of any other race at all. My name derives from the three major races in Malaysia - Sunitra is Indian for "beautiful eyes", which is ironic, seeing that my stupid left eye is a tiny bit smaller than my right. I also hate my single eyelids, and my eyelashes are rather short, meaning no amount of lash-curling can make them fluttery for more than one minute. Xiang Yin, my Chinese name, means ardent and determined to succeed. As for Soraya, it recalls the famous princess who became Empress of Iran. Whoa!
Sometimes, I find my names suit me. Sometimes, they don't. Take Soraya, for instance. She was a princess. But I break school rules all the time! I can't stand not breaking the rules for a single day. I've been caught more than 10 times for wearing colourful hairbands (I like to inject my life with colour, thank you very much), twice for wearing too many earings (in all four of my pierced holes), twice for wearing ankle socks (the recommended height for socks is 10am from the ankle, horrors!), and once for throwing a paper plane in the hall during assembly. not very princess-ly, in my opinion.
I like Xiang Yin the most. Because it's true - I am ardent. When I was in Standard Two, there was a fat boy who, together with his bony sidekick, teased my best friend and me relentlessly. One day, they went too far - they threw stones at us. My friends went home and complained to her parents. Me? The next day I threw stones back at them. They didn't bother us any more after that.
Recently, I defied my whole class and our English teacher by insisting that my answer to a poorly-set exam question was the correct one. No matter how hard I protested, my teacher didn't believe me. My classmates even taunted me. In the end, it turned out I was right. Suddenly, people started calling me "a future lawyer".
I used to hate my name even though I know it is unique, and all my parents' friends have told me it is beautiful. I am also proud to be Malaysian, and the best way to feel Malaysian is to have a truly Malaysian name.
I supposed my pride in being Malaysian comes from my dad, who always says you don't need to wave a flag to show you love your country. And I think there's no better way to contribute to the realisation of "Bangsa Malaysia" than to give your children names like mine (and my brother's, Jebat Arjuna Kee Jia Liang). So, for all I've had to go through, I hope one day I can truly be proud of my name and be fully aware of its significance.
As old Shakespeare wrote: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet." I can be teased; people can call me things that embarrass me, shame me or deride me, but I'll still be the same old Soraya Sunitra Kee Xiang Yin.
Well, what do you know? I'm feeling prouder already.
Soraya's story won first prize in Category A (13-15 years) of the MPH Search for Young Malaysian Writers 2004.
But the question I am always asked is the one about my name.
My name is Soraya Sunitra Kee Xiang Yin. One of my teachers thought I was Thai. (A few months later, this same teacher read my name out as Seroja.) Another teacher thought I had Malay, Chinese and Indian blood. An ex-classmate from my old school thought I was Japanese and started calling me Sukiyaki. Some people hear it as Sarah. But what I am asked almost every time my name is announced is: "Are you Malay?"
I've endured nicknames like bunga raya, hari raya, jalan raya, kad raya, pasar raya ... you name it, I've heard it. And those are the tame ones. The chinese nicknames can be downright rude. When some people pronounce my name as "Seraya" and I tell them it's "So", not "Se", they start laughing because "So" in Cantonese (sounding more like "sor") means crazy. I've been called "so-jie" which means "crazy elder sister" and So-raya" - "crazy Raya".
Let me clear the air once and for all. I am 100% Chinese, and I have no relatives of any other race at all. My name derives from the three major races in Malaysia - Sunitra is Indian for "beautiful eyes", which is ironic, seeing that my stupid left eye is a tiny bit smaller than my right. I also hate my single eyelids, and my eyelashes are rather short, meaning no amount of lash-curling can make them fluttery for more than one minute. Xiang Yin, my Chinese name, means ardent and determined to succeed. As for Soraya, it recalls the famous princess who became Empress of Iran. Whoa!
Sometimes, I find my names suit me. Sometimes, they don't. Take Soraya, for instance. She was a princess. But I break school rules all the time! I can't stand not breaking the rules for a single day. I've been caught more than 10 times for wearing colourful hairbands (I like to inject my life with colour, thank you very much), twice for wearing too many earings (in all four of my pierced holes), twice for wearing ankle socks (the recommended height for socks is 10am from the ankle, horrors!), and once for throwing a paper plane in the hall during assembly. not very princess-ly, in my opinion.
I like Xiang Yin the most. Because it's true - I am ardent. When I was in Standard Two, there was a fat boy who, together with his bony sidekick, teased my best friend and me relentlessly. One day, they went too far - they threw stones at us. My friends went home and complained to her parents. Me? The next day I threw stones back at them. They didn't bother us any more after that.
Recently, I defied my whole class and our English teacher by insisting that my answer to a poorly-set exam question was the correct one. No matter how hard I protested, my teacher didn't believe me. My classmates even taunted me. In the end, it turned out I was right. Suddenly, people started calling me "a future lawyer".
I used to hate my name even though I know it is unique, and all my parents' friends have told me it is beautiful. I am also proud to be Malaysian, and the best way to feel Malaysian is to have a truly Malaysian name.
I supposed my pride in being Malaysian comes from my dad, who always says you don't need to wave a flag to show you love your country. And I think there's no better way to contribute to the realisation of "Bangsa Malaysia" than to give your children names like mine (and my brother's, Jebat Arjuna Kee Jia Liang). So, for all I've had to go through, I hope one day I can truly be proud of my name and be fully aware of its significance.
As old Shakespeare wrote: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet." I can be teased; people can call me things that embarrass me, shame me or deride me, but I'll still be the same old Soraya Sunitra Kee Xiang Yin.
Well, what do you know? I'm feeling prouder already.
______________________________________________
Soraya's story won first prize in Category A (13-15 years) of the MPH Search for Young Malaysian Writers 2004.
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