What You Havenrrrt heard of Malaysia Hello there. 'Selamat Datang ke Malaysia'. Which means, 'Welcome to Malaysia' within our national language Bahasa Malaysia. It might be impossible to inform you everything about Malaysia in such a short period of time, however i provides you with an over-all idea.
People
One of the things you'll find most fascinating about Malaysia is its people and culture. As 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 facet of Malaysian life.
The Malaysian population includes 62% Bumiputeras, which includes Malays and the Indigenous peoples, 24% Chinese, 8% Indians, and the rest are other minorities. Or as we say in Malaysia, 'lain-lain' varieties. Citizenship in East Malaysia or the states of Sabah and Sarawak really are a little different from citizenship in Peninsular Malaysia for immigration purposes. When West Malaysians visit East Malaysia, they're required to bring their MyKad, a biometric smart chip identity card, which must be carried by citizens of Malaysia at all times.
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 are automatically Muslim. The Malays would be the big brothers of politics, dominating the political scene. Their native language is Malay, the national language of the country. They are also sometimes called 'bumiputra', or 'princes from the soil' and are favoured with certain affirmative action policies. This has been a point of discontent with many different minorities. Among others, obtaining a 10% to 25% discount when buying a house and receiving government tenders and scholarships are a few of these benefits. How did this come about? I'll tell you more in the economy section.
The 2nd biggest group are the Chinese. They are mostly Buddhists, Taoists or Christians. The Chinese community speaks a number of Chinese dialects including Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, and Teochew- all from the native familial provinces in China. However nowadays, many Chinese speak English as their first language; actually there are several who speak only English. When the Malays dominate the political scene, the Chinese dominate the business scene. There is a sizable middle-class composed of the Chinese.
The third biggest group are the Indians. The Indians in Malaysia mostly are Hindu Tamils from southern India whose native language is Tamil. Of course there are other 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 is also a vigorous 200,000-strong Indian Muslim community that thrives being an independent cultural group. In fact, if you achieve hungry in the center of the night time, you most likely will head to a 'mamak', a kind of 24-hour restaurant that is often of an Indian Muslim. There is also a sizable Sikh community in Malaysia numbering over 100,000.
The largest non-Malay indigenous tribe may be the Iban of Sarawak, who number over 600,000. Some still reside in traditional jungle villages in long houses across the Rajang and Lupar rivers, though many have moved to the cities. Then, you will find the Bidayuhs, who number around 170,000 and are concentrated in the south western a part of Sarawak. Then there are the Kadazans, the biggest indigenous tribe in Sabah and they're mostly Christian farmers. Then there are the 140,000 Orang Asli, or aborigines, residing in Peninsular Malaysia. Traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists, many happen to be partially absorbed into 'modern' Malaysia.
Besides that, through interracial marriage, there's a significant number of racial groups such as the Eurasians, who're descendants of marriages among the British, Dutch and Portuguese and the locals. They speak a Portuguese-based creole, called Papi? Kristang. There's also Eurasians of Filipino and Spanish descent, mostly in Sabah. Descended from immigrants from the Philippines, some speak Chavacano, the only real Spanish-based creole language in Asia. Then there are Cambodians and Vietnamese, who are 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, many of them are Buddhists, celebrate Songkran or Water festival and may speak Hokkien, however, many of them are Muslim and speak the Kelantanese Malay dialect. There are the Bugis and Javanese, who make up an element of the population in Johor. Additionally, there have been many foreigners and expatriates who have made Malaysia their vacation home, also contributing to Malaysia's population. There are the Babas and Nyonyas, or Straits Chinese; descendants of Chinese who came to trade in ancient Malacca who married local Malays. They combine Malay and Chinese traditions in a way as to create a new culture. Most of them dress yourself in typical Malay fashion, wearing the kebaya ketat, which is a Malay traditional costume, and they speak a special kind of Malay, and cook food that's a mixture of the two cultures.
As being a multiracial country, cultural exchanges and cultural integrations are inevitable. For instance, this can be observed in Malay marriage ceremonies, which incorporates elements of the Hindu traditions of southern India. The bride to be and also the groom dress yourself in gorgeous brocades, sit in state, and feed one another 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 of the packets vary, however the practice is comparable.
Teach in MalaysiaIn Malaysia, it is possible to visit from a kampong or a village, to some rubber estate to some Chinese coffee shop and feel as if you have often seen so many different sides to one country. Visit any Kuala Lumpur suburb and observe. A Chinese house may have a mother praying and lighting joss sticks on her ancestors, an Indian family will be playing radio stations featuring the most recent Tamil hit, as the Malay family will be getting prepared to walk to 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 like to gamble, and the Indians are always drunk plus they beat their wives. You can still hear this very often in the streets, most of the time like a joke, but sometimes being an insult. To be identified with your race is very common. For instance, job interviews require you to state your race, though this practice is slowly diminishing. Whenever you tell a Malaysian that you saw a road accident, he would likely ask you whether it would be a Malay, a Chinese or perhaps an Indian. If you got robbed, you would be asked whether it was a Malay or an Indian. If you achieve paid peanuts, your manager is likely Chinese. Should you ride a motorbike, you're probably Malay. If you live inside a high-end neighbourhood, you're most likely Chinese. I could go on, however i encourage you to find out these stereotypes yourself!
Besides being a melting pot of numerous races, Malaysia is also a multi-religious society with Islam as the official religion. Roughly 63 percent of the population practice Islam; 18 percent Buddhism; 7 percent Christianity; 6 percent Hinduism; and 2 percent traditional Chinese religions for example Taoism. The rest of the numbers are accounted for by other faiths, including Animism, Folk religion, Sikhism, while 1 percent doesn't have religion.
While the Malaysian constitution guarantees religious freedom, Malay Muslims are obliged to follow along with the decisions of Syariah courts when it comes to matters concerning Islam. Converting from Islam in Malaysia is a largely problematic issue, and while it has been attempted by some, it's a procedure that requires long legal battles and is not well-received through 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 power of the Shariah court is limited simply to Muslims over matters for example marriage, inheritance, apostasy, religious conversion, and custody. Not one other criminal or civil offenses are under the jurisdiction from the Syariah courts. But there have been moves through the Pan Islamic Party to implement the hudud law, or Islamic law.
That was a lot to digest. But it is worth focusing on how culture, race and religion operate in Malaysia in order to understand Malaysian life. Now go out and see if you can recognize who's Malay, who's Chinese, who's Indian, and who's, as we Malaysians love to say, Lain-lain, or others.
ESL jobs MalaysiaEconomy
Let us take a quick consider the Malaysian economy now.
Spice trade used to be big business in Malaysia during the Malaccan Sultanate. When the British took over, rubber and palm oil trees became big business. Soon, Malaysia became 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 the NEP, after the May 13 Incident of racial rioting in 1969. In those days, the economies were raced based- the Malays worked as farmers in the paddy fields or civil servants, the Chinese owned businesses and the Indians tapped rubber trees within the rubber estates. The policy's main objective was the elimination of the association of race with economic function as it was during the British. However, the New Economic Policy was laden with controversial affirmative policies that favoured the Malays, also it was a source of discontent even until today.
In those days, Malaysia was very reliant on agriculture. It needed to move to an economy according to manufacturing. Inspired by the Asian Tigers in the 70s, which were Columbia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, Malaysia moved from being reliant on mining and agriculture for an economy based on manufacturing. Then, Malaysia consistently achieved a lot more than 7% GDP growth together with low inflation within the 1980s and the 1990s. Today, Malaysia is home to one of the world's largest computer hard disk drive manufacturing sites.
The Asian Economic crisis hit in 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 need for the ringgit dropped from 2.50 Ringgit versus 1 US Dollar to, at one point, 4.80 Ringgit versus 1 US Dollar. A National Economic Action Council was then formed to handle the monetary crisis. Bank Negara, the country's central bank imposed capital controls and pegged the Malaysian ringgit at 3.80 to the US dollar. Malaysia refused economic aid packages in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, much towards the surprise of numerous analysts.
Rejuvenation from the Malaysian economy coincided with massive government spending and budget deficits within the years that followed the crisis. It eventually enjoyed faster economic recovery compared to its neighbours. Malaysia's rapid economic growth and prosperity is symbolized by the building from the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the tallest twin buildings in the world and also the headquarters from the national oil giant.
As the pace of Malaysia's development today is not as rapid, it's seen as more sustainable. Malaysia is also the earth'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. In that exact same week, the ringgit strengthened 1 % against various major currencies and was expected 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 on the planet, 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 having a private healthcare system. Anyone can walk into a government hospital and obtain treatment for free, though waiting time is generally longer. Prescriptions could cost cash except in many cases are given to the individual at a subsidized rate. Infant mortality rate - a typical in determining the general efficiency of healthcare - in 2005 was 10, coming in favourably in a comparison using the United States and The european union. Life expectancy at birth in 2005 was 74 years.
If you want medical assistance in Malaysia, you're free to walk into any government or nursing homes, but as a tourist, you will not be able to enjoy the free healthcare.
Education
Before we obtain into some language lesson, Let me let you know the way the Malaysian education product is organized. Why do different children visit various kinds of school? At this point, you'd 't be surprised basically tell you just how the training product is greatly based on race too.
If you are between 3 to 6 years old, you'd probably visit a kindergarten. Usually they are 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 visit. The first is the SRK, or Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan, which are government run schools. You would be using the Malay language because the medium of instruction.
Or, if your parents are Chinese or Indian, they might choose to give back towards the second kind of school called SJK, or Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan. Here, you will be using either Mandarin or Tamil, based on which school you go to. A high level 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'll wear dark blue pants or shorts and a white shirt. And you'll happily slog through 6 years, and by the end of 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 where you will study for the following 5 years. National secondary schools use Malay as the main medium of instruction. After Form Three whenever you turn 15, you'll sit for another much-dreaded exam called Lower Secondary Assessment or Penilaian Menengah Rendah, not too fondly referred to as PMR. And finally, in the last year of secondary education or Form Five whenever you turn 17, you take the really dreaded Malaysian Certificate of Education or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, SPM. It's 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. This is because 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 federal 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 noted for producing some of the top students in the united states, making some Malay and Indian parents send their kids to these schools as well.
Oh, your education journey isn't over just yet. At 17, if you are lucky enough to be born Malay and bumiputra, you receive into a fast track called matriculation and secure a safe seat at university. Consistent with affirmative action policies that favour your race, you will not have to worry much if you'll obtain a place. If you're Chinese, Indian or Lain- Lain, you will need to undergo 2 yrs of upper secondary education called Form Six, split into Lower Six and Upper Six, at the end of which you will be rewarded most abundant in dreaded of 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, for those who have money to burn, you can purchase your way out of STPM by enrolling yourself inside a matriculation course in private colleges.
And lastly, the pinnacle of education- the university. The amount of public universities in Malaysia is few, in fact less than 20, so places are very limited. Finding a place in a public university is an annual supply of frustration, with many qualified students visiting the media to complain they have been denied a location. If you're Malay or bumiputra, you can save your parents' retirement fund and secure an almost guaranteed place in a public university, where schooling fees are minimal. However, if you are Chinese or Indian and you neglect to secure a place, your other option is private college education, in which you will need to ask your parents to postpone their retirement by a few years.
I did tell you that race plays an important role within the Malaysian society.
Then, after 3 to 6 many years of university, you graduate with a degree and can decide to continue your post graduate studies.
Language
Alright, that's the end of our education on education. And today, comes the practical part. Here are some handy tips for you to make your visit to Malaysia better.
Communication is easy in Malaysia. Contrary to public opinion, 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 try. Let's begin!
Good morning! Selamat Pagi
Good evening! Selamat Petang
How are you? Apa Khabar?
I'm fine, thanks! Khabar Baik, Terima Kasih
Thanks! Terima Kasih
You're welcome! Sama-sama
Night! Selamat Malam
See you later! Jumpa Lagi!
Good bye! Selamat Jalan!
If you need to request some help or directions, these are some useful phrases:
I'm lost Saya Sesat
Are you able to help me? Boleh Tolong Saya?
Where is the bathroom .? Mana Tandas?
Go straight! Then turn left/ right! Jalan Terus/ Kemudian Pusing Kiri/ Kanan
I'm looking for my pal. Saya Cari Kawan Saya.
Just how much is? Berapa Harga Ni?
Pardon me!Maafkan Saya...
If you're really enthusiastic about trying out much more Bahasa Malaysia, here are some more advanced phrases.
Would you speak English? Awak Cakap Bahasa Inggeris ke?
Somewhat. Sedikit sahaja.
What's your company 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?
I live in...Saya Tinggal Di
I must go Saya Pergi Dulu.
I will be back! Saya Akan Pulang Nanti.
I do not Understand! Saya Tak Faham!
I Don't Know! Saya Tak Tau!
Now you know some simple phrases, get cracking and speak to some locals, and get them to educate you on more! There's no better way to socialize than by taking some effort in mastering their language. Malaysians will love you for this!
Tourist Tips
Here are some tips for you. If you are being introduced to a Malay Muslim the very first time, extend both both hands, grasp theirs and produce yours to your chest. This is the traditional Malay 'salam.' To help keep it simple, smiling and nodding is fine if you do not know whether or not to shake hands or not. With Muslim women, in general, if your hand is not offered, it is best not to shake hands!
Should you ever get lost or need any help, look for the tourist police officer. They may be recognized by their chequered hat bands, dark blue shirts and trousers, and the letter "I" for information on a red and blue badge on their breast pocket. They often stand around tourist areas. However, if you are seeking regular policemen, the amount to call is 999 out of your phone. Emergency calls in Malaysia have the freedom.
Malaysia has approximately 20 public holidays in a year, so plan your vacation wisely and appearance with the Tourism Malaysia website. Also affecting travel are summer break, as families take slow days using their children, so song of the nation, like tourist sites and beaches might get crowded.
As you'll be carrying out a lot of walking, you can always buy standard water bottles for drinking, and it is generally not safe to drink straight from the tap. The electrical supply is on a 240-volt 50-cycle system, similar to Britain.
Should you wish to catch up on local news and events, english papers that are offered are The New Straits Times, The Star, Business Times, Malay Mail, Daily Express, Sabah Daily News and Sarawak Tribune. If you would like international newspapers, you are able to most certainly locate them at any major bookstores and newsstands. For events, try Time Out and Klue magazines.
The 2 significant climate changes centre on the monsoon season, but on top of that, the weather rarely changes. It is either hot with rain, or hot without rain. The temperature ranges between 21 C and 32 C, however with high humidity. Rain has a tendency to occur between November and February on the new england of Peninsular Malaysia, western Sarawak, and also the north-eastern a part of Sabah.
Because of the climate, light clothing is ideal. It is advisable for girls, when entering mosques and temples, to put on long sleeves and loose pants or long skirts. Or you might carry a shawl- it's a lighter alternative.
If you want to adjust your watches before arriving, Malaysia is 8 hours in front of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Remove shoes when entering homes and places of worship. Malaysians do not wear shoes throughout the house.
While sitting down or resting inside a group, do not direct your feet towards someone, or any religious statues.
Public display of affection in larger cities like Kuala Lumpur is generally tolerated but might invite unnecessary attention from the public. Public displays of affection in more rural areas are frowned wupon and really should be avoided. Also, same-sex relationship is taboo in Malaysia, so gay and lesbian travellers should avoid outward signs and symptoms of affection, and this includes holding hands in public. Due to strong influence from Islam, homosexuality is technically illegal, however, there are many underground lgbt clubs.