If you’ve lived in Melaka long enough, you’d get what I keep yapping on about Melaka being one of Malaysia’s hidden gems. Living here most of my life gave me a different perspective on this little kampung state where people are still believed to study in little huts.
Here are a few things only true Melakans (or Malaccans) would nod aggressively at.
Jonker Street is for the tourists (unless we’re bored).
Tourists usually come here thinking Jonker is THE place. Locals know it’s only acceptable at night, and only if there’s literally nothing else to do. We avoid that area on weekends like the plague sebab panas, sesak, and suddenly everyone’s walking at half speed for no reason.
We measure distance by time, not kilometres.
“Far” in Melaka has a different meaning. With all our traffic lights and the weekend jam, anything more than 15-20 minutes is far. Waiting at the traffic lights age you like crazy. Maklumlah, Melaka ni Darul Traffic Light. KL traffic is bad, but driving in Melaka is another kind of suffering.
Weekend traffic changes our personality.
Speaking of traffic, you’ll only get it if you have experience being in it. Melaka on weekdays is quite chill. But on weekends, it’s a whole other story. Suddenly, every road is jammed, everyone is road raging, and we’re in the car going “Asal ramai orang hari ni doh?” as if it would be different than any other weekend.
Beca music is either a vibe or a menace.
One minute you’re vibing to retro Cantopop or old Malay hits. The next, your ears are being attacked by a Baby Shark remix nobody asked for. There’s no in between. The pak cik beca would put songs based on their passengers so get ready for Baby Shark, Chammak Challo, and Golden playing over each other.
Peranakan and Kristang culture is normal.
What’s “special heritage” to outsiders is everyday life to us. The food, the houses, the way we locals talk in English (which I’ve been told is a whole different slang compared to everyone else in Malaysia), these are all woven into our collective culture. It’s true what they say, “You won’t realise how special something is until someone from outside points it out.”
Nyonya laksa > other laksa.
You guys don’t get it. My parents who aren’t Melakan argue that our laksa is nothing more than curry mee, which I disagree with. Our nyonya laksa has a unique flavour with siham, taugeh, and boiled egg. These combined with the coconut milk-infused broth is just SO GOOD.
Beach air is humid, but we can’t live without it.
We complain that the humidity in the air is horrible, panas la apa la. But when it’s the cool rainy season, we miss the heat and humidity. Especially near the beachside areas like Klebang and Tengkera, my hair gets so poofy some days, but hey, that’s just volume, right?
Melaka people don’t shout about where we’re from *cough*Penang people*cough*. We just exude quiet pride, strong roots, and a “this is our home” kind of energy. You can leave Melaka, but Melaka never really leaves you.
Living in Melaka teaches you to move slower, notice more, and appreciate the small things. It’s not flashy or loud. But if you know, you know. And if you don’t, just pay us a visit. You’ll get it. (Or don’t. We don’t mind less jam on the weekends hehe)