I live somewhere near Kampung Kerinci, I told him. He'd been so curious to know where I go home to at the end of each night. Oh, he said, your own place? Yes, I said. You live alone? Yes, I said. Wow, he said, so you can walk around naked in your apartment then, huh?

And this was a straight Melayu guy.

You know, I don't get it. That's the third guy - three of them in six months - who's said the same thing. I kid you not - they were, at best, only half joking. (Actually, it would be even more damning if they really were joking: you know what they say about jesting and the truth.)

It's enough to make me wonder: what the hell is it with Malay guys and this fantasy of walking around starkers in the privacy of their homes, anyway? What is going on?