Ah Beng
Ah Beng is a pejorative term applied to describe anti-social lower-class youths in Singapore and Malaysia who display common characteristics such as dyed hair, wearing loud fashion, and playing music in public. The female equivalent of an Ah Beng is an Ah Lian.
A stereotypical Ah Beng would be someone who is not highly educated, is loud and unsophisticated, and operates within secret societies and street gangs. Ah Lians, on the other hand, are regarded as bimbos, and are stereotyped as anti-intellectual, superficial, materialistic, and shallow.
The equivalent of an Ah Beng in other English-speaking countries is often said to be Australia's bogans, the United States' rednecks and Britain's chavs.
Etymology
Ah Beng comes from the romanisation of the Hokkien pronunciation of . The character "明" is commonly used in the names of ethnic Chinese males in the region; the term "Ah Beng" alludes to their commonness.Among Cantonese speakers, Ah Beng is also known as lala zai. "Lala" has no actual meaning in itself, although it may have originated from the Singlish word "la"/"lah", while "zai" means "boy." "Lala zai" refers to individuals who speak in Malaysian English or "pure" Singlish and who possess a strong preference for gaudy fashions or hairstyles.
In popular culture
Ah Bengs have been featured in several Singaporean films, including:- Army Daze - Adrian Lim Meng Kiat portrays REC Teo Ah Beng who has a severe dislike of having to serve National Service and is only doing it for the allowance. A recurring joke about Ah Beng is that everyone keeps telling him to speak Mandarin when he keeps speaking Hokkien.
- Money No Enough - A film about three Singaporean men whom are close and best friends who start a car polishing business together to resolve their financial problems.
- S11 — A film about three Singaporeans whose lives coincide.