On 21 March, several Indian politicians raised concerns over the outdated use of the word "keling" by Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka Malaysia (DBP).

You know, the people who were supposed to be the authority on the Malay language.

It started when someone noticed the word "tambi" (which means younger brother in Tamil) being defined as "bp 1 panggilan utk orang Keling yang lebih muda drpd kita, 2 pelayan pejabat;peon" (Kamus Pelajar Edisi Dua) on DBP's website.

Translation: term used to refer to "keling" people (or what a normal person would call Indians) who are younger. The second part of the explanation is quite baffling but let's not get there for now.

Free Malaysia Today reported that politicians such as Klang MP Charles Santiago and Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto have spoken up against the usage, with the former expressing his "disappointment" and the latter her "disgust".

We don't understand why a Tamil word needs to be in a Malay dictionary in the first place, but DPB did share a lengthy explanation on its social media pages.

The explanation

TL;DR: DBP was basically defending itself saying that the definition found online was from the second edition of Kamus Pelajar, which was published in 1987.

The more updated dictionaries such as the Kamus Dewan Edisi Empat (2005) and Kamus Dewan Perdana (2020) has replaced the k-word with the more acceptable "Indian".

The 1987 dictionary was apparently updated in 2007, but only with additions, so the term remained. However, a third update is in the works and DBP promises to look into such matters.

The government agency further explains that as a "living dictionary", the tomes include words that has been used historically and in daily lives by the Malays. However, improvements are made in terms of the definitions from time to time.

Giving the disputed word "keling" as an example, DBP said that the more recent description of the word includes that it's considered tidak halus (not refined) and considered as a taboo word.

Why you should stop using the K-word

Here's the problem with DBP's explanation: it does not say why the word was still found online without the proper disclaimers, which obviously could not have been updated in 1987.

Judging by some of the comments on DBP's post, people are confused as to why Indian get angry when you use the word "keling". Yes, even in 2021 when you can just Google the answer or just ask an Indian.

Sure, the word may have not always been used as a racial slur but it is used as one now. Very few of us are as old as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to remember a time when "keling" was not used to put the Indians down.

If you're going to sit there and tell us that you're not aware that "keling" is used as a derogatory term, we're going to call bulls*it. Surely you haven't been living under a rock the past decades.

Still not convinced? Ask the Indians if they are OK being called using the word. If they tell you it's racist and you should not be using the word, just accept it.

You didn't grow up with the trauma of being called "keling" in a derogatory and insulting way so you have no say. End of discussion.