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"Malaysia, Disini Lahirnya Sebuah Cinta"
“Malaysia Where Love Grows”
“Malaysia Where Love Grows”
~ The "Theme" for Malaysia's 57th
Independence or Merdeka Day celebrations.
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1) We have our own unique blend of English called "Manglish" with words like "No la", "Yes la",
*I love Manglish as I feel it shows our multi-racial heritage with a language born of this merging of cultures and languages from the different races in Malaysia.
*My siblings work in the city and when they come back home, the first visit is always to a Nasi Kandar shop.
3) We travel to foreign lands sometimes even spending years there, and although we may enjoy delicious Italian pizzas and spaghetti, authentic American burgers or original British Fish and Chips, but when we come back home to Malaysia, we drive straight to our favorite
hawkers stall and decimate nasi lemak, char kway teow, thosai/Dosa, laksa, curry mee, roti canai, etc like a person starved. Heck, I go for holidays and enjoy delicious chicken chops and pasta, and the next day hunt down Indian restaurants selling rice with spicy curries and sambal. It may be food I eat every day at 
4) A must have item, in any long-distance travels to foreign lands especially for long periods of time, are packets and packets of Instant Noodles.
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6) No one else gets our fascination with the King of Fruits, Durians, as one whiff of its deadly aroma sends some people especially non-Malaysians running for their lives. For most of us Malaysians however, it is sweet, sweet heaven. A creamy, melt in your mouth fruit; every bite savored and enjoyed. 7) We stand together as one family when faced with adversities. We may not have earthquakes but we do have floods that can devastate villages and towns.
When these mother nature based calamities occur or when we face national tragedies like the recent
sad loss of Flight MH370 and MH17, we bond as one family to grieve, reciting our prayers for the victims and their families. When help in needed, we give what we can. 8) We may have tons of designer apparel shops in huge shopping malls, but at most nights, we can be seen at the night markets or pasar malam because we, Malaysians, know there is where we can get the best bargains. Quality materials at a fraction of the price.
9) We have luxurious restaurants that are air-conditioned and classy, yet our favorite hang-out is always at a hawkers stall because we know, this is where we can get the best-tasting food.
10) We have many awesome burger joints, either the fast-food variety or those at elegant restaurants, but
11) Being blessed with sun all-year-round, barbecues and picnics are common occurrences. Nothing beats meat cooked over a hot, charcoal grill.
12) For a little excitement in our lives, we have the unpredictable weather. The weather forecast may predict hot, sunny weather but it's always handy to have an umbrella in your car as you never know when the next thunderstorm is going to make its grand entrance.  |
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13) "Open House" is a happy occurrence in Malaysia. During festivals like Hari Raya Puasa, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas, Gawai, and so on, open houses will be held, so the host's friends from another race can visit them. With this Open House culture, we all, irregardless of our race or religious beliefs, celebrate together as one. 14) As the years go by, many of us have become racially integrated, with inter-racial marriages becoming the norm. So much so, many of us are not easily identified due to our mixed parentage.
*My mom, for instance, is always mistaken for a Malay, thanks to her mixed parentage of Eurasian and Indian. In my extended family, both on my mother's side and father's side, we have an interesting mix of Indian, Malay, Chinese, Portuguese, Irish and Iban ethinicity. Family gatherings are always fun especially when Roast
Chicken and mashed potatoes, rendang, rice and curry, and spicy Portuguese Devil Curry adorn the table. 15) Ask most young Malaysians what their favorite food is and they will all unanimously say, "Hands down, mom's cooking!".
16) Blood relations doesn't matter here, every man is an "uncle" and every lady is an "aunty". We would never dream of calling our friends' parents by name. It's always "uncle" and "aunty" for us. For those still young but older than us, it's always "Kakak" (sister), "Abang" (brother) and those younger are called "adik". There's also the practice of young boys calling each other, "macha", which originates from the Indian culture and is the term for the wife's brother. Now, however, everyone is somebody's "macha".
In Malaysia, we have beautiful sandy, beaches that beckon. A paradise of islands that entice you to stay. Green forests that relax you. And for those looking for some fun and excitement, there are shopping malls, clubs, water-parks, animal reserves, national monuments and so on. We are never at a loss for fun things to do during the weekends and holidays.
Disclaimer :
The author of this blog post is not responsible for any hunger pangs or yearning resulting from the food pictures in this blog post.
Note to self :
The author should refrain from writing blog posts such as these when hungry.
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