tak puasa ker?

One of my colleague is from Sarawak who is Iban mix Chinese. Her dad is dark and so her skin is relative tan. Many times when mixing with new friends, they will think that she's Malay. I know how annoying (and some times insulting) it is to be mistaken to be another race... I've been there.

Since it's the fasting month now, quite a number of people have been giving her the stare when she eats during fasting hours. Some have even stopped her from eating and made remarks like Echo("Eh apa ini, kita kan semua dalam Islam, mesti puasa lah!"); and some like Echo("Eh tak puasa ker?" *gives the shake the head no no stare*); I have personally heard people saying the ‘puasa’ statement to her and seen the people giving her the stare while paying for her food.

She came complaining to me today when this happened to her yesterday. She took out a bun to munch during the after work jam in KL yesterday. While being stuck in the slow crawl in Jalan Ampang, this man on her right wound down his window and signal her to wind hers too. She did, as she thought that something might be wrong with her car. The man said Echo("Dik, tak tahan ker?");

That really blew her top because people just simply made assumption that she was Muslim and should be fasting just by looking by skin color.

My question is, isn't it rude to say\ask this kind of questions without really knowing the whole story behind a person not fasting? I mean if she was a Muslim and suppose to be fasting; she might be sick and might not be fasting during that day. I also do know that ladies who are having their period may choose not to fast too. Do other people have the right to stop another person from eating during the fasting period?

I think people who are not fasting should respect the people who are by trying not to talk about food or eating in front of them. But on the other hand, people who are fasting should also respect those who are not fasting (Muslim or non Muslim).

I believe fasting is a personal thing. (I'm referring to other religion as well, like Christians, Hindus and Buddhists) You don't have to enforce it to anyone, or tell anyone that you are fasting. It's all personal. What's the point of making it all a big fuss? Where's the sincerity to it then?