"There's a minah in every girl. The real ones are those in denial."
- Bambang Suryadi

Let's face it, there's a Minah in every single one of us, males and females. It's just a matter of how much.
The rest of this entry is about my opinions. I may not have the right to voice them, but I have the right to my opinions. If anyone feels strongly on this topic, I suggest, that you do NOT continue reading.

Let's begin.

min·ah[min-ah]: Usually a Malay female in her teens.

I shall break this down into a few parts: Entertainment & Lifestyle, Food & Beverage, Language & Culture.

Entertainment & Lifestyle
All of us like some sort of entertainment. Who doesn't? It can be in a club, at some fancy upmarket coffee place, or plainly at the park, beach, or void deck. Literally anywhere you can get in for free, or you don't have to pay to sit at.
Where we go usually depends on the day of the month, and the amount of cash we are willing, and able to spend. It's no different from a minah. Really. They're regular human beings, who like doing the things that other people like.

In the evenings, or night rather, many can be found hanging out in clubs, usually DBL O, or Powerhouse and more recently Arena, Rebel and Attica. Like many, they are often attracted to either cheap drinks, or low (or free) cover charges, but most times, it's the combination of both. The development of Ladies Nite has filled clubs to the brim with people; the Minahs, and the skirt-chasing Mats.

Food and Beverage
Minahs rarely eat. Possibly around once or twice a week, there's a rare occasion that they eat. Okay. I'm kidding. Minah's eat anything between 2 to 5 times a day. There is an inverse correlation between the amount they eat per sitting, and the number of times they eat (read: they eat more, when they eat less times). Which is normal. I'm sure everyone does too. Hence reiterating the fact that EVERYONE is a minah.

Diet wise, most minahs (like many youngsters too), believe in a "No pork, no Lard' principle. So places like Fish & Co., Subway and most cafes are where one can often find Minahs hanging out, often with their male counterparts, the Mat[maat].

It is known that some Minahs also take alcohol.

Language and Culture
Since most known occurences of Minahs are Malay, the main language of minah's is Malay. There's the occasional occurence that Minahs are Chinese (by race) but they too can somtimes speak, or at least understand, Malay. Profanities are common. Many understand them, but usage varies greatly within individuals.

The education of Minahs vary greatly from the non-completion of secondary school to the upper echelons of society. Many are known to have Masters Degrees, but even more are trapped in the downward spiral of education.

But a common trait (like many other women) is the need to be beautiful, either for themselves, or for the men. Most Minahs believe in the saying of "Style before substance" or its Malay equivalent "Gaya mesti mau ada."

So a Minah doesn't seem out of place, in society do they. Then what's all the fuss about it?

A large proportion of the Minahs that we see around, are exactly what irks me the most.

Dressing: Horrendous. Usually low cut tops which clear shows how well endowed they are, and tight stretch pants which clearly shows how unshapely they may be. Fashion gurus usually advise women, to take a size smaller to appear slimmer. But Minahs become their own fashion gurus and take the smallest possible size that they can squeeze their heads or feet into.
Like this two...

Verdict: Badan baek.. Muka Pecah.

And that's only clothes. I haven't mentioned shaven, or pencil-liner eyebrows, make-up on the face enough for the entire cast of cirque du soliel, nor poorly maintained skin hygiene, especially scars.

This is getting lengthy, and honestly, I don't want too much negative uproar on this post.

Here's a gist of General Minah types currently.

Minah Rep / 'Rape': Bad dress sense, bad habits, ignorant, just plain wrong priorities in life.
Minah Motor / Minah Rempit: those who ride bikes. Some are friggin hot, especially if they are slim built and wear jeans with sneakers riding on their DRZs...
Minah Tudung: Girls who wear the religious head dress, those that you can bring home to your mum.
Minah Ferring: A combination of the above three, but will leave your mum with a heart attack if she finds out her bad habits...
Minah Club: Minah's who frequent clubs, and usually leave the club drunk with another stranger. Otherwise they take the first bus/train home cos they're too broke to take the cab.
Minah World: A minah who 'talks big' and feels that she's the prettiest, most popular ones alive, but she actually looks like crap, and has no real friends.
Minah Rolling: This is easier to describe in Malay. But generally means an easy target for wolves.
Minah Kental: An underaged minah (below 18)
The Real Minah: A combination of any of the above, but won't admit that they're not a Minah.
Minah [place adjective here]: Anything that she does, or behaves like. Minah Gambar (photography), Minah Kasut (shoes), Minah Factory, Minah Saman (Summons),


SO there we have it. Its not exactly cast in stone, nor clear what a Minah is. You'll know one when you see one.

Having dated a few ultimate minahs, the broke ones, the rich ones, the easy-going ones too, I find that there's a minah in all of us.

Like what Nora said, we have our tendencies, so let's just embrace it.

A label that is given to you, can only be removed by those who put it there. It's up to you to prove that you're not worthy of it.

Loving and Missing my Sue, the Minah Diver.