There have been claims by some Indonesians that the abbreviation “Indon” which Malaysians commonly use to refer to Indonesians (and Indonesia in general) is some sort of discriminating slur. Some have even gone as far as to say that “Indon” means “slave” or “whore” in Arabic (a totally fictional claim). When I first came across this argument, I laughed it off as some sort of sick joke. But apparently the Indonesian media have whipped up such disinformation to such an extent that it became “common knowledge” to the Indonesian layman, without truly understanding the meaning of the term. Continue reading →