..[The Malay Songkok]....The Malay gentlemen use to wear Songkok [headgear] but now for wanting to be seen as more Islamic,some Malay have throw away this traditional headgear for the skull cap, a cap use by the Arab, perhaps they want to look more pious I just do not know, or they, without realizing just wear the skull cap and eventually over time, more and more Malay start using this cap...I also got carried away and wore the skull cap but now realizing it I have start to wear the Songkok on Friday when I went for the congregation prayer...Some even start to wear the Arab clothing, the Jubah, the turban, spot beard and mustache, without realizing that this jubah is just an Arab attire and not Islam...There are time, when they wear the Baju Melayu..A Malay traditional dress, they would put on this skull cap, making them look real funny....Malay gentlemen look better wearing the songkok when they put on the Baju Melayu and the songket sampin [hand woven brocade sarong worn together as part of the traditional dress], .But now for wanting to be seen as more pious, they throw away their traditional songkok and put on the skull cap, what a shame...By adapting other culture especially that of the middle eastern people, the Malay are beginning to loose their Malayness. The Malay cultural area are far flung and rich in traditions and culture and yet some Malay want to arabnised the Malay, without realizing that the Malay culture is older and more advance then the Middle eastern culture, The Malay were civilized long before the people of the middle east became to be civilized, look at what our forefather did in the monumental projects like Angka Watt, the Barabador,the management of water in Java, the Majapahit empire, the Acheh adventurer, the great seafarer and adventurer of the Bugis, the arts and works of arts of such high quality that is still use today, the creation of the Kriss [Malay weapon used by Malay warrior and now use as a symbol of power by the King] and other silver and wood crafts..., once the Malay houses on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia were intricately built and the wood carving were of high quality, now there are no more there, because some so called preacher say it is unislamic...There are more example of other advance projects of great value all over these great civilizations in the Malay archipelagoes, that we Malay should be proud of...I do not believe we should ape any thing others, for our culture is more refine and advance, we should go forward and popularized our own traditions and culture instead accepting culture from a less develop people... We are a democratic people, they are not, as such they do not understand what freedom means, the freedom to learn, create new works of art and to enjoy the creations for a better quality of life...I am told by the former head of the local Museum of Art, that less Malay buy works of arts, like the painting then the other Malaysian, so where have thing gone wrong, I believe it is the so called preachers that got the Malay astray and if this kind of thinking are not corrected, the Malay would eventually be lost in their own world....