Of My Skin Colour

I do not know about you, but I have had several occasions where I had to explain to the foreigners about myself. Because, there are always some confusions.

Foreigner:"Hi, where are you from?"

Me:"Hi, I'm Malaysian."

Foreigner:"I thought you're Chinese."

Me:"I'm a Malaysian Chinese."

Foreigner:"..." (blank face)

Me:"Malaysia is a multiracial country. We have Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Kadazan, and many other ethnics. But we are all Malaysians, we can all speak Malay and English. And on top of that, we speak our mother tongue."

Foreigner:"Whoa! That are a lot of languages to learn!"

That's a typical conversation when I encounter foreigners who know little about Malaysia. 

I was born in Malaysia, I grew up in Malaysia, I was educated in Malaysia. I am a Malaysian. 

I do not introduce myself as Chinese when I meet foreigner, because I'm not from China.

So, please allow me to introduce myself again.

Hi, I'm a Malaysian. 

Aku anak Malaysia.