Beware the ‘Ah Pu Neh Neh’: Malaysian Indian men’s hilarious spin on racist bogeyman myths and mixed marriages (VIDEO)

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — For many Malaysians, particularly those of Chinese descent, local variations of the bogeyman are common in cautionary tales and parental warnings.

If parents or elders sought to instil fear with supernatural threats, you might have been warned about the ‘hantu kopek’ or ‘hantu tetek’.

Chilling stories describe this figure as an old, unattractive hag (or sometimes a beautiful, young woman, depending on the storyteller’s intent), kidnapping children and hiding them between her large breasts until they suffocate.

But, as disturbing as this figure may be, it’s eclipsed by an openly racist version of the bogeyman — the “Ah Pu Neh Neh.”

While the origins and meaning of the term are unclear, its intent is undeniable. Parents often use warnings like, “Don’t misbehave, or the Ah Pu Neh Neh will come and get you,” to frighten disobedient children.

In Malaysia and Singapore, “Ah Pu Neh Neh” has evolved into a common racial slur referencing Indian men, with Singaporean social media users even abbreviating it to “APNN”.

Although the slur is casually used under the guise of humour, it remains offensive.

A Malaysian Indian man, however, has turned the stereotype on its head with a humorous take on interracial marriage.

In a four-minute, 26-second video titled “APPUNENE” on Instagram, director Vinoth Raj Pillai (VRP) and Creative Agency Your Maker presents a mockumentary-style narrative in which three Chinese women discuss their “abductions” by the “Ah Pu Neh Neh”.

Set to an ominous soundtrack, each woman shares her experience.

One tells of being “force-fed,” showing a before-and-after comparison of her slimmer self before she began enjoying her husband’s fish curry — which she now eats with relish, even offering some to the interviewer.

Another laments no longer being able to enjoy pork dishes, like char siew and bak kut teh, due to her husband’s religious beliefs. Her mother then appears and reveals in Hokkien that she never even ate meat to begin with.

A third woman comments on her photographer husband’s fondness for drinking. It then becomes clear that his favourite beverage is coffee, which he offers her mid-interview before proceeding to give her a shoulder massage.

The video shifts to the three husbands playfully discussing the differences between using toilet paper versus water and ends with a final message: “Lead the ignorant out of darkness with love and light-heartedness.”

Make no mistake, despite the occasionally painfully racist takes which are actually familiar, the video's message of mutual respect and understanding using the subject of interracial marriage is loud and clear.— Picture from instagram/Your Maker