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Popular Local Customs | Miscellaneous Local Customs Tips | All Tips (259)
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 | Ancient Chinese beliefs |    |  |
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 |  on November 22, 2006 |
Roughly 25% of populations in Malaysia are descendant of Chinese, Qingese and Mingese. They emigrated to Old British-Malaya or the Old Malacca Empire in different period (from 1400s-1900s). Majority immigrants came to Old British-Malaya during the war days from 1800s to 1949. The year 1949 is the year China Communist establish, the border closed, it marked the end of Chinese emigration to British-Malaya. To visit Malaysia is to visit the traditional community of ancient traditional Chinese, because all the Malaysian-Chinese never experienced the cultural revolutions in China, the Malaysian-Chinese did not know anything that occur in China, therefore Malaysian-Chinese, mostly, still remain conservative, old thinking, still living like an ancient Chinese, interesting ?? |
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| Take It Easy | | |
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 |  on July 25, 2005 |
People here are relaxed, so remember to take things easy. Don't rush them too much for services etc. Some have religious reasons to be unfriendly to strangers, though generally people are friendly. Though at the right places, they really do smile a lot, especially with the generous tip you give ! That means the 5 Star hotels and restaurants etc. Hope for, but don't really expect that sort of service and smiles at the backpackers club. |
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| The culture of purple colors | | |
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| on April 13, 2006 |
The culture of purple colors is a very interesting culture in Malaysia. I believe is a very useful tip for foreign tourists to get to know more about Malaysian culture of colors. It is basically an unaware habit by many peoples in the country. Based on my personal observation, I noticed bosses have a habit of showing personal character to reject certain colors and the one color so often mentioned by them was purple. Many employees learnt from bosses, they too, dislike purple color. |
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| Understanding Malaysian Names of People | | |
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 |  on August 29, 2006 |
1) Malays are Muslims and so have Muslim names like Mohamed Samad, Fatimah Othman. Men have "bin" (son of). Women "binti" (daughter of). Indian Muslims have similar names. Chinese who are converted into Muslims will use "Abdullah" as family name 2) Chinese will have their surnames in front, eg Tan Beng Huat, Lim Siew Ying where Tan and Lim are family surnames. And many may use B.H. Tan and S.Y. Lim as initials are easier to pronounce and remember. Many Chinese use Christian names even if they are not Buddhist, eg. Robert Tan Beng Huat or Sylvia Lim Siew Ying. Because standard romanized Chinese were not used, many of the spelling of same surname were dependent on the Chinese dialect used. Eg. Ooi, Oei, Huang have the same Chinese character. 3) Indian names are varied as there are Punjabis, Bengalis, Tamil, Telugu, Ceylonese, Gujeratis groups. Eg Rajagopal Seenivagam, Nirmala Ramasamy. A/L (son of) and A/P (daughter of ) are also used. Indian Christians also have Christian names. For Indians who are Sikhs, then men will have their names ending with "Singh" and women with "Kaur". So usually from the names, you can guess what the person's ethnic and religious background is. Usually. |
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| New Malaysian King appointed | | |
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| on November 4, 2006 |
Effective December 13, 2006, the 13th King of Malaysia, Yang Di Pertuan Agong, is Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the current Sultan of Terengganu. Sultan Mizan was appointed by the Conference of Rulers which consists of all the Rulers of nine states and will be the King for a five year term. Sultan Mizan will succeed the current King Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail. The first King of Malaysia the Yang Di Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Abdul Rahman Tuanku Muhammad which potrait appears in all the Malaysian ringgit notes. |
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| The Feng Shui culture | | |
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| on May 7, 2004 |
The Feng Shui culture is another headache problem nowadays especially in architectural design, landscaping design, commercial design and others. This tip is very important for newbies when dealing with Feng Shui believers especially the Malaysian-Chinese. When I was working in the advertising agency, I once come across a funny incident where the client asked for a special illustration for their milk products. The illustration was to show a mother with 2 of her precious kids sitting closely with her enjoying the milk. The illustrator did a very skillful work spending nearly one month's time to draw (illustrate) the mother and two kids. The moment we saw the drawing, we reacted - Wow so beautiful. Okay good, the next day the drawing was shown to the client to proof to have a look. And you know what happens? The client just happened to be a Feng-Shui believer to reject the drawing and the reason they gave was - 3 person should not be together in the photo, or else the one in the middle will die. The drawing has to be sent back to the person who draws it to change completely. I was there to witness all the procedures from the start until the end. The second time when the illustrator bring back the drawing was only one mother with one girl and the quality of drawing was bad and rough. Somehow the client accepted and happy the job done. |
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| "Open House" on major Malaysian Festivals | | |
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| on August 25, 2006 |
During the major festivals of Malay Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Chinese New Year, Indian Deepavali, Christmas, Iban (Sarawak) and Kadazan (Sabah) harvest festivals, many Federal and State leaders will hold open house whose dates and locations will be published in the media. Many locals and tourists are welcomed to join in the celebration which usually have free package food or buffet at official compounds. Great way to shake hands with royalty and the famous politicians, taste local food and mingle with Malaysians from all walks of life. Great photo opportunity as many will be dressing in their best traditional clothes. |
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| Hari Raya Puasa | | |
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 |  on January 19, 2004 |
The most significant celebration for Muslims, it signifies the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. The celebration is determined by sighting of the new moon on the day, before the next month on the Muslim calendar, Syawal. The words ' Hari Raya ' mean 'day of celebration.' Ramadan is the name of the one-month fasting period when Muslims fast from dawn till sunset. Muslims starts the day by wearing new clothes and congregating in the mosques early in the morning to perform Hari Raya Puasa prayers followed by visiting the graves of the departed. The Muslims also give packets of money to kids when they go visiting. The packets are usually green in color and children often look forward to getting these money tokens on Hari Raya Puasa. |
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| Deepavali | | |
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| on January 9, 2004 |
Deepavali or Diwali means "a row of lights". In Malaysia, it is celebrated as the day the evil Narakasura was slain by Lord Krishna. The triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Getting up early before sunrise, oil is applied on heads and a bath is taken. This ritual oil bath is known as "ganga-snanam" and is done to cleanse one of the impurities of the past year. Prayers are held at the family altar, after which the family gathers before the elders to receive their blessings. |
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| Mooncake Festival | | |
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| on January 9, 2004 |
The Mid-Autumn or Mooncake Festival falls on the 15th day of the Chinese eighth month and is celebrated to signify the end of the harvest season. As it is associated with paper lanterns, it is also called the Lantern Festival. In Malaysia, the Chinese celebrate the festival with family gatherings, prayers, mooncakes and lantern parades by children. Lanterns, usually come in various shapes like dragon, butterfly, rabbit, carp and others. In keeping with the times battery operated lanterns are also available, but they are not as popular as those lit by candles. To the Chinese, the round shape of mooncakes symbolises family unity. Each mooncake is about the size of a human palm. Among the popular varieties are the black bean paste (tou-sha), brownish lotus paste (lien-yung) yellow bean paste (tou-yung). Usually the paste contains the yolk of a preserved duck’s egg to enhance the flavour. |
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