'Ambo pun ore Kelate' (I am also a Kelantanese)

'Ambo pun ore Kelate' (I am also a Kelantanese)

Interestingly, there is no way to describe the Chinese community in Kelantan.

They are the Peranakan Chinese and are very unique and different from other Chinese in Malaysia.

If you go to Perkampungan China along Sungai Kelantan, it is hard to identify between the Malays, Chinese and Thai people because they all look alike.

This was acknowledged by Low Chin Holder, 23, a student at a local university who speaks fluent Malay and proudly calls himself 'Cino Kelate'.

Associate Prof Dr Lim Swee Tin

He said all members of his family speak fluent Kelantanese dialect and it is the language used between them.

"Since my childhood, I have been exposed to the Kelantanese ways and culture, regardless of the Malays, Chinese or Thai," he confessed.

Obviously, growing up in Kelantan gave the extra edge and he said his life is more like the Malays. This is because he has been around the Malay communities in Kelantan and been more exposed to the Malay cultures.

"Kita ore Kelate, ore Kelate mestilah makan makanan kelate, make nasi kerabu dengan tangan dan budu, dengar dikir barat (We come from Kelantan, Kelantanese people eat Kelantanese food, we eat with our hands and we eat budu, we listen to dikir barat)," he said.

In fact, he said, living in Kelantan under the Islamic leadership does not restrict them from living their lives as Chinese do.

Associate Prof Dr Lim Swee Tin is not a Malay, nor does he have any Malay blood in him, but he is a Malay literary proponent.

Born in Bachok, Kelantan, being bred in the Malay community made Dr Lim more of a Malay than his Chinese Peranakan origins.

"The Chinese in the West coast don't understand this, they were shocked to hear how we talk," he said in a 2011 article.

"In my family, we converse using the English language, but in any debates, automatically I will use the Kelantanese dialect and doing so gave my tremendous satisfaction," he explained.

Dr Lim said his love for the Malay language started when his family adopted some Malay cultures into their lives which eventually changed his way of life.

The family's spoken language is a mixture of Malay, Thai and Chinese.

He expressed sincerely, "I said I want to write in the Malay language so that the Malays will know that 'Lim' can write in Malay and love the Malay language."