What Is A “Mat”?
A “Mat” (pronounced m-ah-t) is a term for Malay folks in Singapore and/or Malaysia. Stereotypically, they are in their late teens or early 20s (but not necessarily so), speak in the Johor-Riau dialect of the Malay language and Singlish in a brutish manner, have dirty dark brown complexion and likes to wear black.
“Relek one corner” is one of the more commonly used terms of the Mat. A Mat is, by nature, lazy, so to “relek”, or relax, at a corner is an activity much sought by a Mat. Mats like to gather at local coffee shops, making noise and attracting attention to themselves, usually sitting at a corner table.
Mats tend to boast a lot and love to talk the world of themselves. This air of arrogance is maintained by their ignorance of reality and an innate desire to distance themselves from knowledge and work. Belittling others seem to be a passion for them. Usually, their boasts carry no weight but it might not be a good idea to call their bluff (lest a fight occurs, see next para.). The best thing to do is simply to nod and agree and let them run their mouth. Garbage in, garbage out.
A Mat usually has no future whatsoever, preferring to indulge in fights over mundane things, like losing a soccer match, or looking in his direction. Most of the time, because of forced responsibility, a Mat will cease to be one as he gets older.
