Correct me if I am wrong, but the cultural appropriation polemic started because of white people profiting from using other ethnicities’ or cultures’ products and traits. Think Gwen Stefani making a whole album’s theme based on the Harajuku culture, or Elvis Presley basically plagiarising black people’s music.

As with other racial-related issues in the US, the cultural appropriation accusation gets out of hand. Anytime a white person wears another culture’s traditional costume, for example, gets catcalled for cultural appropriation. Personally, I don’t think that constitutes cultural appropriation.

As a Malaysian who previously lived in the US half of my life, I feel that there is no issue with someone from one ethnic background to wear outfits from another culture. I myself am not a Malay, but I love baju kurung. I would not be offended if I see a Malay wearing a cheongsam or a saree.

And in my point of view, I also do not see a problem if a Malay, for example, makes a living from making CKT or tandoori chicken. White people, however, are already too privileged that whenever they expropriate another culture’s customs and traditions, they have the resources and the reach to overshadow people from the cultures they expropriated.