My country, my home, Malaysia

I asked my dad that day if he had ever thought of migrating to another country.

"You have the money to do so?"

"What if money isn't a problem?" I asked.

"Nah, I think Malaysia is not too bad of a country. Though there are a few corruptions here and there, we live quite harmoniously compared to in some of the other countries. Though we Chinese do not get to enjoy the privilege the bumiputeras get, we are being treated quite well in this country. I am happy in Malaysia."

There are times when I really feel like leaving this country and think that the grass is greener on the other side. Here are some things that I don't like about Malaysia.

Climate

This is something I really really dislike about living in a tropical country, the climate is so HUMID. All you have to do is just step out of your house for maybe 5 minutes during the day and you will be all sticky and sweaty. Your makeup doesn't last, your hair frizzes easily. People with straight hair may not have this problem, but you will know what I mean if you have curly hair. The more humid the weather, the frizzier your hair will be. Besides making you look like crap, the climate also forbids us to do a lot of things which can be done very comfortably in a country less humid.

Transportation

I have friends who live in the US and UK and they enjoy walking to college, cycling, strolling in the park, having picnic with their friends, taking a 30 minutes walk to go to the town to get some groceries, going on all sorts of outings, because the weather there is just so fine! If you ask me to WALK to college, or take a 5 minute walk to the 7-11 behind my house to get something, no, I won't do it. If you think you can cycle to work in Malaysia, that's only possible if your work place is just a stone throw away from your house. Literally a stone throw away.

In Malaysia, if you don't own a car, you are like a disabled man, stuck at home and can go no where. Yeah, we do have public transportation, but walking to the station is such a torture! Our buses are like moving ovens when the weather is hot, mini water parks when it is raining. I have seen really really really rude bus drivers and a few fights between passengers and bus drivers. We have very long train platforms but you will surprised when the train arrives, because its length is less than half of the platform. Don't dream of traveling comfortably especially during peak hours, you're lucky to even be able to get into the train.

There are so many roads with no footpath for the pedestrians, even if there is, it's probably in a very bad condition.

Politics

I don't know much about politics, but I know there are a lot of people, including my parents, who are unsatisfied with the government. It hasn't affected me yet, but it will in the future.

Censorship

I get so annoyed when I am happily singing along with the radio and suddenly the lyrics of the song is blurred, for I don't know what reason. Ok, I understand if the word is like fuck or really obscene, but beer? Whiskey? Cigarette? I really don't think it is necessary to censor words like these. What negative impact will these words have on the young, innocent minds? All these efforts on blurring the lyrics are very redundant.

I don't mean to defame my country. There are some things I love about my country.

Multiracial

I like how we live together harmoniously. Though we don't share equal privilege in buying house, paying taxes and whatnot, but we are not being treated as immigrants here. We live like a big family. The Malays they have their rules that we don't have to follow, which makes it kind of equal. Also, the people here are very understanding and friendly, especially towards foreigners.

Food

Malaysia is a multiracial country. That being said we have a vast variety of food here! Nasi Lemak is an iconic Malay food in Malaysia. I love to eat it with Chicken Rendang. Roti Canai is one of my family's favorite food for breakfast. Dim Sum and Bak Kut Teh used to be some of my favorite food before I became a vegan. Ais Kacang (aka ABC) and Cendol are our favorite desserts. Besides local cuisine, we also have Japanese cuisine, Western cuisine, Korean cuisine, etc which are really good, sometimes even better than those they have in their own country. I can go on with the list of food forever, but I won't. It is endless.

Tropical forests

It may sound a bit contradicting here. At first I said I hated tropical weather, but now the tropical forests is one of the things I like about Malaysia. I am just really proud of the high number of species and high levels of endemism we have in Malaysia. Our wildlife are some of the most diverse on Earth. About two third of Malaysia is covered in forest. Malaysia is definitely a biodiversity hotspot, and because of this, many bird watchers and hikers travel all the way to Malaysia every year to spend their holidays in our forests. Though logging has devastated part of the tree cover, our government is putting a lot of effort into conserving the forests.

Disaster-free

We are free from earthquakes, blizzards, hailstorms, volcanic eruptions, which makes Malaysia a very safe place to live in. We don't have to worry that our houses will be blown away by a tornado, or part of our forest cleared up by wildfires. Flash flood does strike the low lying areas during the rainy seasons but I strongly believe this problem can be overcome by improving the drain system.

That's all I could think of for now. I would add on to the list when I can think of anything else.

In a nutshell, there are pros and cons living in Malaysia, I know there are things that are better in other countries, there are still a lot of room for improvement for Malaysia. If I was given to migrate to another country, I would love the cleanliness of the place and the efficiency of the transport system, but Malaysia is where I was born, where I grew up, where I belong, where I call home. I love Malaysia (not every much though, but I still do).


PS. Comment below and tell me what you like/dislike about Malaysia, I would love to know what you think about this country.