Hello, Malaysia. My name is Jordan MacVay and I am Muslim. Dina Zaman has asked me to write something for her column, so I'd like to talk about asking questions. In fact, I'm going to start with a question for you: when you see me holding hands with my Malay wife, what do you think?

Come on, I know you've seen us. Maybe not us, but I know you've seen people like us: Malay women with Mat Sallehs. I know some of you roll your eyes because you know the story: boy meets girl; boy thinks girl is cute because she's small and pretty and a little exotic and has that hitam manis skin colour that a lot of Mat Sallehs seem to like; boy and girl fall in love and decide they'd like to get married; girl tells boy he'll have to become a Muslim in order to marry her; boy thinks what the heck, I just need to recite a few things, put on a show for the in-laws and all that; boy and girl get married, and celebrate with beer and pork chops. Or maybe boy and girl don't get married because boy doesn't want to convert, but they stay together anyway and live a life filled with sin. Another fine young Malay woman led astray by a Mat Salleh, tricked into eternal damnation by his white skin, blue eyes and big wallet. Is that what you think when you see us together?

No? Good.