That which you Don't Know About Malaysia
People
One of the things you will find best about Malaysia is its people and culture. Being a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual society of 28 million is no easy feat, as race continues to be a hotly debated issue and permeates nearly every aspect of Malaysian life.
The Malaysian population includes 62% Bumiputeras, including Malays and also the Indigenous peoples, 24% Chinese, 8% Indians, and also the rest are also minorities. Or as we say in Malaysia, 'lain-lain' varieties. Citizenship in East Malaysia or even the states of Sabah and Sarawak are a little different from citizenship in Peninsular Malaysia for immigration purposes. When West Malaysians visit East Malaysia, they are required to bring their MyKad, a biometric smart chip identity card, which should be carried by citizens of Malaysia all the time.
The Malays form the largest community, and they're defined as Muslims within the Constitution of Malaysia- in other words, if you are Malay, you're automatically Muslim. The Malays are the big brothers of politics, dominating the political scene. Their native language is Malay, the national language of the country. They're also sometimes called 'bumiputra', or 'princes from the soil' and are favoured with certain affirmative action policies. It has been a place of discontent with a lot of minorities. Amongst others, getting a 10% to 25% discount when purchasing a home and receiving government tenders and scholarships are a few of these benefits. How did this happen? I'll tell you more throughout the economy section.
The second biggest group would be the Chinese. They are mostly Buddhists, Taoists or Christians. China community speaks a number of Chinese dialects including Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, and Teochew- all from the native familial provinces in China. But today, many Chinese speak English as their first language; actually there are several who speak only English. When the Malays dominate the political scene, china dominate the company scene. There is a sizable middle class consisting of the Chinese.
The 3rd biggest group are the Indians. The Indians in Malaysia mostly are Hindu Tamils from southern India whose native language is Tamil. Obviously there are more Indian communities living here plus they speak many dialects like Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. Many middle to upper-middle class Indians in Malaysia also speak English as a first language. There's also a vigorous 200,000-strong Indian Muslim community that thrives as an independent cultural group. Actually, if you achieve hungry in the center of the night, you most likely will visit a 'mamak', a type of 24-hour restaurant that is often of an Indian Muslim. There's also a sizable Sikh community in Malaysia numbering over 100,000.
The biggest non-Malay indigenous tribe is the Iban of Sarawak, who number over 600,000. Some still live in traditional jungle villages in long houses along the Rajang and Lupar rivers, though many has progressed to the cities. Then, you will find the Bidayuhs, who number around 170,000 and therefore are concentrated within the south western a part of Sarawak. There are the Kadazans, the largest indigenous tribe in Sabah and they are mostly Christian farmers. There are the 140,000 Orang Asli, or aborigines, residing in Peninsular Malaysia. Traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists, many have been partially absorbed into 'modern' Malaysia.
On top of that, through interracial marriage, there are a significant number of racial groups like the Eurasians, who're descendants of marriages one of the British, Dutch and Portuguese and also the locals. They speak a Portuguese-based creole, called Papi? Kristang. There are also Eurasians of Filipino and Spanish descent, mostly in Sabah. Descended from immigrants in the Philippines, some speak Chavacano, the only real Spanish-based creole language in Asia. There are Cambodians and Vietnamese, who're mostly Buddhists. There are Thai Malaysians, who populate a big part from the northern peninsular states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu. Besides speaking Thai, most of them are Buddhists, celebrate Songkran or Water festival and can speak Hokkien, however, many seem to be Muslim and speak the Kelantanese Malay dialect. Then there are the Bugis and Javanese, who make up a part of the population in Johor. In addition, there have been many foreigners and expatriates who have made Malaysia their second home, also adding to Malaysia's population. Then there are the Babas and Nyonyas, or Straits Chinese; descendants of Chinese who found trade in ancient Malacca who married local Malays. They combine Malay and Chinese traditions in a way regarding create a new culture. Most of them dress in typical Malay fashion, wearing the kebaya ketat, which is a Malay traditional costume, plus they speak a unique type of Malay, and cook food that is a mix of the both cultures.
As being a multiracial country, cultural exchanges and cultural integrations are inevitable. For example, this can be seen in Malay marriage ceremonies, which incorporates elements of the Hindu traditions of southern India. The bride and the groom dress yourself in gorgeous brocades, sit in state, and feed each other yellow rice with hands painted with henna. Another example would be that the Muslims and Hindus have adapted china custom of giving little red packets of money or 'ang pau' at festivals for example Aidilfitri, and Deepavali. The colours from the packets vary, but the practice is comparable.
In Malaysia, it is entirely possible to go from the kampong or a village, to some rubber estate to a Chinese cafe and feel like you have often seen a wide variety of sides to one country. Travel to any Kl suburb and observe. A Chinese house may have a parent praying and lighting joss sticks for her ancestors, an Indian family will be playing radio stations featuring the most recent Tamil hit, while the Malay family will be receiving prepared to walk towards the closest mosque.
Racial relations remain a thorny issue that permeates every factor of the Malaysian life. Stereotypes are then inevitable. The Malays are lazy and slow, the Chinese are greedy and prefer to gamble, and also the Indians will always be drunk plus they beat their wives. You can still hear this very often in the streets, more often than not as a joke, but sometimes as an insult. To be identified together with your race is extremely common. For instance, job interviews need you to state your race, though this practice is slowly diminishing. When you tell a Malaysian that you saw a road accident, he'd likely ask you if it was a Malay, a Chinese or perhaps an Indian. If you got robbed, you would be asked whether it would be a Malay or an Indian. If you achieve paid peanuts, your boss is likely Chinese. Should you ride a bike, you're most likely Malay. If you reside inside a high-end neighbourhood, you're probably Chinese. I could go on, however i encourage you to find out these stereotypes yourself!
Besides as being a melting pot of various races, Malaysia is another multi-religious society with Islam because the official religion. Roughly 63 percent from the population practice Islam; 18 percent Buddhism; 7 percent Christianity; 6 % Hinduism; and 2 percent traditional Chinese religions for example Taoism. The rest of the numbers are taken into account by other faiths, including Animism, Folk religion, Sikhism, while 1 percent has no religion.
As the Malaysian constitution guarantees religious freedom, Malay Muslims are obliged to follow along with the decisions of Syariah courts with regards to matters concerning Islam. Converting out of Islam in Malaysia is really a largely problematic issue, and while it has been attempted by some, it is a procedure that requires long lawsuits and is not well-received by the majority of the Muslim faithful. The Islamic judges within the Syariah courts are required to follow along with the Shafi`I school of Islam, the main denomination of Islam in Malaysia. The strength of the Shariah court is limited simply to Muslims over matters for example marriage, inheritance, apostasy, religious conversion, and custody. No other criminal or civil offenses they are under the jurisdiction from the Syariah courts. But there has been moves through the Pan Islamic Party to implement the hudud law, or Islamic law.
Which was a great deal to digest. But it is worth focusing on how culture, race and religion work in Malaysia in order to understand Malaysian life. Now get out there and try to recognize who's Malay, who's Chinese, who's Indian, and who's, once we Malaysians like to say, Lain-lain, varieties.
Economy
Let us take a quick consider the Malaysian economy now.
Spice trade was once big business in Malaysia during the time of the Malaccan Sultanate. When the British took over, rubber and palm oil trees became big business. Soon, Malaysia had become the world's largest producer of tin, rubber, and palm oil. With these three lucrative commodities, Malaysia was poised for great economic growth.
In this growth period, the government attempted to eradicate poverty with the controversial New Economic Policy, or even the NEP, following the May 13 Incident of racial rioting in 1969. In those days, the economies were raced based- the Malays worked as farmers within the paddy fields or civil servants, china owned businesses and also the Indians tapped rubber trees in the rubber estates. The policy's main objective was the removal of the association of race with economic work as it had been during the British. However, the brand new Economic Policy was laden with controversial affirmative policies that favoured the Malays, and it was a source of discontent even until today.
In those days, Malaysia was very just a few agriculture. It needed to move to an economy based on manufacturing. Inspired through the Asian Tigers within the 70s, that have been Columbia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, Malaysia moved from being reliant on mining and agriculture to an economy based on manufacturing. Then, Malaysia consistently achieved a lot more than 7% GDP growth together with low inflation within the 1980s and also the 1990s. Today, Malaysia hosts one of the world's largest computer hard disk manufacturing sites.
The Asian Financial Crisis hit within the fall of 1997 and delivered a shock to Malaysia's economy. Foreign direct investment fell sharply and, as capital flowed out of the country, the value of the ringgit dropped from 2.50 Ringgit versus 1 US Dollar to, at some point, 4.80 Ringgit versus 1 US Dollar. A National Economic Action Council ended up being formed to deal with the monetary crisis. Bank Negara, the nation's central bank imposed capital controls and pegged the Malaysian ringgit at 3.80 to the US dollar. Malaysia refused economic aid packages from the International Monetary Fund and also the World Bank, much towards the surprise of many analysts.
Rejuvenation from the Malaysian economy coincided with massive government spending and budget deficits within the years to come the crisis. It eventually enjoyed faster economic recovery when compared with its neighbours. Malaysia's rapid economic growth and prosperity is symbolized through the building from the Petronas Twin Towers in Kl, the tallest twin buildings in the world and the headquarters from the national oil giant.
While the pace of Malaysia's development today is not as rapid, it's seen as more sustainable. Malaysia can also be the world's largest Islamic banking and financial centre.
Eventually, the fixed exchange rate was abandoned in July 2005 in favour of a managed floating system inside an hour of China announcing exactly the same move. For the reason that very same week, the ringgit strengthened 1 % against various major currencies and was likely to appreciate further.
Currently Malaysia is recognized as a newly industrialized country so that as of 2008, has a GDP per capita of 14,215 USD, ranking the country 48th in the world, and 2nd in Southeast Asia, but lagging far behind its Southern neighbour, Singapore.
Healthcare
Let's take a quick take a look at healthcare in Malaysia. Malaysia generally has an efficient and widespread system of healthcare. It implements a universal healthcare system, and co-exists with a private healthcare system. Anyone can enter a government hospital and get strategy to free, though waiting time is usually longer. Prescriptions could cost money but are often given to the patient in a subsidized rate. Infant mortality rate - a typical in determining the general efficiency of healthcare - in 2005 was 10, arriving favourably inside a comparison using the Usa and The european union. Life expectancy at birth in 2005 was 74 years.
If you want medical assistance in Malaysia, you're liberated to enter any government or nursing homes, but like a tourist, you will not have the ability to enjoy the free healthcare.
Education
Before we get into some language lesson, Let me let you know how the Malaysian education product is organized. So why do different children go to different types of school? At this time, you'd 't be surprised basically tell you that the training system is very much according to race too.
If you are between Three to six years of age, you'd probably go to a kindergarten. Usually they're run privately, however, many are run through the government.
When you turn 7, you'd move on to primary school for the following six years. There's two types of primary school you could go to. The first is the SRK, or Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan, that are government run schools. You'd be using the Malay language as the medium of instruction.
Or, if your parents are Chinese or Indian, they might decide to send you to the second kind of school called SJK, or Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan. Here, you will be using either Mandarin or Tamil, depending on which school put forth. If you're a girl, you will wear a dark blue pinafore, coupled with a white shirt, or the dark blue and white baju kurung, or Malay traditional costume. If you're a boy, you will wear dark blue pants or shorts along with a white shirt. And you will happily slog through 6 years, by no more year 6 or when you are 12 years of age, you'll be taking a much-dreaded exam called the Primary School Achievement Test or Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah, UPSR.
Then, you'd move onto Secondary education in which you will study for the following Five years. National secondary schools use Malay as the main medium of instruction. At the end of Form Three when you turn 15, you'll sit for another much-dreaded exam called Lower Secondary Assessment or Penilaian Menengah Rendah, not so fondly known as PMR. And finally, in the last year of secondary education or Form Five when you turn 17, you take the truly dreaded Malaysian Certificate of Education or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, SPM. It is similar to the British Ordinary or 'O' Levels, and much more comprehensive that the American SATs.
You'll realize there are plenty of exams for Malaysians students to take. The reason being we take after the British system of 'qualification by examination', a legacy in our colonial days.
While English and Maths used to be taught in English for a short period, the government has decided to scrap this measure and revert to Bahasa Malaysia, starting in 2012, a move many have protested.
Here's another stereotype. Due to the stringent teaching methods, Chinese schools are recognized for producing some of the top students in the country, making some Malay and Indian parents send their kids to those schools too.
Oh, your education journey is not over just yet. At 17, if you're lucky enough to get be born Malay and bumiputra, you receive into a fast track called matriculation and secure a secure seat at university. Consistent with affirmative action policies that favour your race, you won't have to worry much should you obtain a place. If you are Chinese, Indian or Lain- Lain, you'll have to go through two years of upper secondary education called Form Six, divided into Lower Six and Upper Six, at the end of which you will be rewarded with the most dreaded of all exams- the Malaysian Higher School Certificate or Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, or STPM. It's the Malaysian equivalent to the British Advanced or 'A' levels. However, if you have money to burn, you can buy your way out of STPM by enrolling yourself inside a matriculation course in private colleges.
And finally, the pinnacle of education- the university. The amount of public universities in Malaysia is few, actually less than 20, so places are very limited. Getting a place in a public university is an annual source of frustration, with lots of qualified students going to the media to complain they have been denied a place. If you're Malay or bumiputra, it can save you your parents' retirement fund and secure a nearly guaranteed place in a public university, where schooling fees are minimal. However, if you are Chinese or Indian and also you neglect to secure a location, your other option is private higher education, where you will need to ask your parents to postpone their retirement with a couple of years.
Used to do tell you just how race plays a huge role within the Malaysian society.
Then, after Three to six years of university, you graduate with a degree and can decide to continue your posting graduate studies.
Language
Alright, that's the end of our education on education. And now, comes the practical part. Here are a few handy strategies for you to definitely make your visit to Malaysia better.
Communication is easy in Malaysia. Contrary to popular belief, most of us speak English, a minimum of some English. Bahasa Malaysia or Malaysia language may be the official language. Here are a few helpful conversational Bahasa Malaysia phrases you can test. Let's begin!
Hello! Selamat Pagi
Good evening! Selamat Petang
How are you? Apa Khabar?
I'm fine, thanks! Khabar Baik, Terima Kasih
Thank you! Terima Kasih
You're welcome! Sama-sama
Good night! Selamat Malam
Help you later! Jumpa Lagi!
Good bye! Selamat Jalan!
If you need to ask for outside assistance or directions, they are some useful phrases:
I'm lost Saya Sesat
Can you assist me to? Boleh Tolong Saya?
Where is the toilet? Mana Tandas?
Go straight! Then turn left/ right! Jalan Terus/ Kemudian Pusing Kiri/ Kanan
I'm searching for my pal. Saya Cari Kawan Saya.
How much is? Berapa Harga Ni?
Pardon me!Maafkan Saya...
If you are really excited about testing out much more Bahasa Malaysia, here are a few more advanced phrases.
Do you speak English? Awak Cakap Bahasa Inggeris ke?
Somewhat. Sedikit sahaja.
What's your name? Apa nama awak?
My name is... Nama Saya...
Where are you currently from? Awak Dari Mana?
I'm from...Saya Dari...
Where do you live? Awak Tinggal Di mana?
My home is...Saya Tinggal Di
I have to go Saya Pergi Dulu.
I will be back! Saya Akan Pulang Nanti.
I do not Understand! Saya Tak Faham!
I'm not sure! Saya Tak Tau!
Now that you know some simple phrases, get cracking and speak to some locals, and obtain them to educate you on more! There's no better way to make friends than by taking some effort in mastering their language. Malaysians will love you for it!
Tourist Tips
Here are some tips for you personally. If you're being brought to a Malay Muslim for the first time, extend both both hands, grasp theirs and bring yours back to your chest. This is the traditional Malay 'salam.' To keep it simple, smiling and nodding is okay if you do not know whether or not to shake hands or otherwise. With Muslim women, generally, if your hand isn't offered, it is best not to shake hands!
Should you ever get lost or need any help, search for the tourist officer. They may be identified by their chequered hat bands, dark blue shirts and trousers, and the letter "I" for info on a red and blue badge on their breast pocket. They usually stand around tourist areas. However, if you are seeking regular policemen, the amount to call is 999 from your phone. Emergency calls in Malaysia have the freedom.
Malaysia has approximately 20 public holidays each year, so plan your trip wisely and check using the Tourism Malaysia website. Also affecting travel are summer break, as families take slow days with their children, so song of the country, like tourist sites and beaches could get crowded.
As you will be carrying out a large amount of walking, you could buy standard water bottles for drinking, and it's generally unsafe to drink straight from the tap. The electrical power is on a 240-volt 50-cycle system, similar to Britain.
If you want to atone for local news and events, the English language papers that are available are The New Straits Times, The Star, Business Times, Malay Mail, Daily Express, Sabah Daily News and Sarawak Tribune. If you want international newspapers, you are able to most certainly find them at any major bookstores and newsstands. For events, try Time Out and Klue magazines.
The two significant climate changes focus on the monsoon season, but on top of that, the weather rarely changes. It is either hot with rain, or hot without rain. The conditions between 21 C and 32 C, but with high humidity. Rain has a tendency to occur between November and February on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, western Sarawak, and the north-eastern part of Sabah.
Due to the climate, light clothing is ideal. It is best for girls, when entering mosques and temples, to put on long sleeves and loose pants or long skirts. Or you might have a shawl- it is a lighter alternative.
If you need to adjust your watches before arriving, Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Remove shoes when entering homes and places of worship. Malaysians do not wear shoes throughout the house.
While seated or resting inside a group, do not direct your feet towards someone, or any religious statues.
Public display of affection in larger cities like Kl is generally tolerated but might invite unnecessary attention from the public. Public displays of affection in more rural areas are frowned wupon and should be avoided. Also, same-sex relationship is taboo in Malaysia, so lgbt travellers should avoid outward signs and symptoms of affection, and this includes holding hands in public. Because of strong influence from Islam, homosexuality is technically illegal, although there are lots of underground gay and lesbian clubs.
