Halal or haram?

HERE’S a conundrum for non-Malays in Malaysia: How much ownership can a non-Malay have over the national language? Use too little of it and one risks being accused of not being Malaysian enough. Use too much and one risks being accused of cultural appropriation or, in the context of a locally brewed whiskey, of trying to confuse the Malays. The brand hearkens back to Malaya’s tin-mining history (timah is the Malay word for tin). Instead, some religious leaders have chosen to interpret the name Timah to mean a woman named Fatimah. That they have opted for an Arabic definition, rather than the Malay one, is completely out of left field.