KUALA LUMPUR — How do you best counter a Malay saying when you don’t agree with it?

Well, Malaysians have taken to the age-old method of debate: using pantun.

This follows Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s social media posting that eagles and sparrows fly at different heights and that everyone should know his place in society.

Tunku Ismail, or better known as TMJ, had shared a picture of himself on Instagram with his siblings and Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar donning Baju Melayu Teluk Belanga paired with black pants.

In his post, he said: “Don’t forget, an eagle and a sparrow do not fly at the same height. Be aware of where you stand and keep your dreams lower than the grass.”

(For the record, there is a Malay proverb that mentions enggang instead of helang.)

The post caught the attention of many Malaysians and the trending form of response to TMJ is the pantun.

Deputy youth and sports minister Steven Sim started the ball rolling on Twitter, calling for social media users to continue the pantun which he began: “Helang terbang tinggi, pipit terbang rendah… (Eagles fly high, sparrows fly low)”

Malaysians did not disappoint. They came up with creative pantun using Mr Sim’s two lines, and he then made a compilation of his favourites. Among those retweeted by Mr Sim was from Twitter user @Raymond Rahman.

“Megat Helang terbang tinggi, sayang pipit melayang rendah, Jangan kita meninggi diri, kelak semua di dalam tanah (The princely eagle flies high, the poor sparrow flies low, let us not be arrogant, as we will all be placed in the earth later).”

Another pantun Sim retweeted was from @asyrafkhaleem.

“Helang terbang tinggi, Pipit terbang rendah, Darjat rendah tinggi, Yang catit hanya Allah (Eagles fly high, sparrows fly low, status can be high or low, but the One who judges is only Allah).”

Meanwhile, @kylebrachon’s rendition went: “Helang terbang tinggi, Pipit terbang rendah, pabila tinggal tulang dan gigi, pakaian dan pangkat tiada faedah. (Eagles fly high, sparrow fly low, when you are just bones and teeth, clothes and position have no meaning).”

Historian Professor Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam had said people commenting on TMJ should not go overboard.

However, New Sunday Times readers had a very strong opinion on TMJ’s statement, with many refuting Dr Ramlah’s stand. Many agreed that TMJ had disrespected fellow Malaysians. NEW STRAITS TIMES