I joined a book club at Wardah Books last Sunday, May 11, 2025. It was hosted by The Seekers Club by Maktaba Books. We discussed The Myth of the Lazy Native by Dr. Syed Hussein Alatas, and it truly opened my mind.
The session featured the ever-wise Prof. Walid Jumblatt and was moderated by the lovely Izza from Maktaba.
Before I dive deeper, let me give you a bit of context. I’ve always seen myself as Malay, even though I was born in Indonesia. But after flipping through the book, I started to question that. Am I Malay? Or am I Jawa (Javanese)?
Dr. Syed focuses on three main groups in the book: Malays, Jawa, and Filipinos. For me, the term Jawa feels more like a tribe than a race. And Indonesia? It is a nation, not a race. But then, where do groups like the Chinese fit into all this?
It got me thinking. Race, ethnicity, and class are human-made tools. They were created to separate us, to maintain power, and to keep certain systems in place.
During the discussion, Prof. Walid said something that stuck with me. We need to stop judging people by how they look and instead see them for who they are and how far they have come in life. A Malay person is not poor because they are Malay. The same goes for any other group, including people of color.
“Stop judging people by how they look and instead see them for who they are and how far they have come in life,” – Prof. Walid.
To be honest, I have held those kinds of biases too. Sometimes I catch myself assuming one group is better or worse than another. These thoughts were passed down through generations and shaped how I see the world. And of course, social structures play a big role in keeping those ideas alive.
Maybe the way out is through mindfulness. Being more aware of our thoughts, our words, and how we treat people who look or live differently from us. It is not always easy. But I believe we can get there together.
Back to the session. I walked out feeling inspired and deeply grateful. The people in the room came from all sorts of backgrounds, and they brought rich, eye-opening perspectives. It even made me reflect on a past experience with a former colleague, who happened to be Chinese. They treated me a certain way… maybe because I look Malay. Or maybe not. But I often hear the term “Indon” used to stereotype Indonesians as lower class, especially those working blue-collar jobs. Now I understand where some of that behavior comes from. And I forgive them.
We are continuing this book discussion in two weeks, and I honestly cannot wait. There is still so much more to unpack, unlearn, and understand.
And I still stand by this: we, Javanese, Malays, Indonesians, are not lazy. We just moved to a different rhythm. A more relaxed one. Like Koes Plus once sang, “Bukan lautan, hanya kolam susu. Kail dan jala cukup menghidupimu.”
Life’s gentle flow teaches us to live softly, not lazily.
