27.01.2026

Why gentleman culture belongs to everyone on earth

A Malaysian reader reflects on why GC’s global, transcontinental outlook makes the masses uneasy - arguing that gentleman culture is universal, aspirational, and rooted in character, not class, race, or religion.

Photo illustration: Suitsupply.

 

Dear GC,

My name is Azam. A 45 years old working as a senior business development manager in Petaling Jaya. I am writing not just as a reader, but as someone who has watched GC grow, and increasing frustration at the responses it now receives.

Some Malaysian netizens appear shocked, even disappointed, that GC presents itself as global in outlook and transcontinental in culture. I'll be honest. Their shock reveals more about their own limitations than it does about your editorial choices.

From my perspective, this direction doesn't just make sense. It's the only direction that makes sense.

Gentleman culture is not owned by any single country or civilisation. It is a shared human language. These codes of refinement are recognised everywhere, even if expressed differently. To claim otherwise is to betray a profound misunderstanding of what it means to be cultured at all. When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) sent a letter to Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and later prophecised that one day, the best leader and community among us is the one who captured the City of Constantine (Constantinople), we can observe this great man indeed admire the best of east and west – a universal culture. A culture that I saw what your platform trying to advocate persistently. It takes balls to do this, especially knowing the backlash would come from people who mistake provincialism for patriotism or local identity.

When GC writes about tennis etiquette, the formality of black-tie dress codes, or the fine dining at Omakase. Yes, there is an aristocratic aura in those subjects. But I think that aura should inspire men to pursue excellence, not inject hatred or resentment. The moment we view refinement as pretentious or wannabes rather than aspirational, we've missed the point entirely.

And yet, that is precisely what I see happening in these forums sections. Men mocking GC on what they don't understand. Men attacking the editorial team on what makes them feel inadequate. Men hiding behind identity because it's easier than self-improvement.

But how do you explain this to people who have already decided that excellence is elitism, that aspiration is arrogance, that learning from other cultures is betrayal to own root?

To those who criticise a global platform like GC for not being "local enough" or for not championing specific cultural or religious content more prominently, I would ask, with all due respect: does excellence threaten our identity, or does it enhance it? Can we not be rooted in our heritage while learning from the world?

Or are we so fragile in our sense of self that exposure to tennis, Italian tailoring, or Japanese discipline makes us feel less Malay, less Muslim, less ourselves?

If that's the case, the problem isn't GC. The problem is us.

I have watched GC's growing caliber with deep encouragement. This kind of growth naturally invites jealousy and criticism, but it also signals relevance. You're doing something right when small minds feel threatened.

I hope GC to continue on this path with confidence. Do not bend to the noise of the masses. Do not dilute your vision to appease those who would rather see you shrink than grow. Platforms that think globally often face resistance early, but they also shape conversations in the long run.

The men who attack your platform today will one day realise they needed you. But by then, I hope you're too far ahead to look back.

 

With unwavering support,

Azam

Answer by The Gent:

Dear Azam,

Your letter deserves more than a private reply. It deserves a public conversation.

You've articulated the tension we navigate daily: how do we champion universal refinement without being accused of cultural abandonment? How do we celebrate excellence while remaining rooted in our own identity?

The answer, we believe, is simple but not easy: we refuse the false choice.

A Malaysian gentleman who learns tennis etiquette doesn't become less Malaysian. He becomes more disciplined. A European man who appreciates Merdeka 118 architecture doesn't become less European. He becomes more mindful. A Russian man who studies batik craftsmanship doesn't betray his heritage. He develops taste.

You mentioned the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)'s engagement with Byzantine Kingdom - a spiritual successor of the ancient Greece and Rome - a reminder that our own tradition never feared learning and absorbing values from the apex of civilization.

But here's what we interpret from the current discourse: that showcasing other cultures equals betrayal.

This assumption reveals a deep insecurity of one who raised it. As if we must choose between being authentically ourselves and being world-class. As if excellence is someone else's inheritance, not ours to claim.

Let us be clear about what GC is, and what it is not. We do not claim to champion any specific culture, including local culture. Though our founders were born in Malaysia, our community is multi-racial and transcontinental, coming from the United States, India, Singapore, France, Australia, and beyond. More than 50% of our readership comes from G8 countries. We are, by design and by reality, a global platform.

To outshine one's own local identity while ignoring other cultures is not only a lack of empathy, it's a lack of common sense. And yet, this is precisely what critics are asking us to do in reverse: to champion one culture at the expense of all others, to make our Malay Nusantara or Muslimness the only lens through which we view refinement.

We will not do this. Not out of disrespect, but out of respect for the full scope of human achievement.

The moment we view refinement through the narrow lens of cultural ownership, we've already lost the plot. The code of gentlemen does not belong to the West. It does not belong to the East. It belongs to anyone on this mother earth willing to pursue it with humility.

The criticism that we receive - that we are "too global," "not local enough," "forgetting our roots" - reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what culture actually is. Culture is not a fortress to defend. It is a garden to cultivate. And gardens grow best when they receive seeds from many places.

To those who criticize us for not being "local enough": we ask what does that even mean for a regional caliber platform whose community spans continents? Should we ignore our readers in New York because they are not Malaysian? Should we dismiss our Indian subscribers because they are not Malay? Should we pretend that excellence only exists within our geographic or ethnic boundaries?

If that's the expectation, then the critics have fundamentally misunderstood who we are and what we stand for: We are not a Malaysian platform that happens to cover global content. We are a global platform that happens to have Malaysian founders. There is a profound difference.

And here's the uncomfortable truth: the insistence that we must be "more local" or "more Islamic" or "more Malay" is itself a form of provincialism masquerading as cultural pride. It assumes that our worth is diminished if we do not constantly signal our ethnic or religious identity. It assumes that refinement is a zero-sum game. That celebrating chivalry somehow erases Malaysian heritage.

Azam, you wrote: "Are we so fragile in our sense of self that exposure to tennis, Italian tailoring, or Japanese discipline makes us feel less Malaysian, less Muslim, less ourselves?"

The answer, sadly, appears to be yes for some. And that is not our problem to solve. We cannot make people secure in their identity. We can only continue to show, through our work, that true class comes from openness, not closure. That true culture absorbs the best from everywhere, not just from home.

GC will continue to showcase the best of human achievement, regardless of race, nationality, and origin. Not because we're "global" in some abstract corporate sense, but because our global readers and our community deserve access to the full spectrum of human refinement.

If that makes some people uncomfortable, so be it.

We appreciate your letter more than you know, Azam. It reminded us why we do this work. Not to please everyone, but to serve those who understand that refinement has no nationality, that refinement transcends borders, and that a gentleman is defined not by where he comes from, but by how he carries himself in the world.

Thank you for your support.

 

With gratitude and respect,

The Gent

RELATED: What inspired the Founders of GC to advocate gentleman culture?


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