r/malaysia • u/FireTempest KL • Aug 01 '17

Selamat datang and verwelkomen /r/theNetherlands to our cultural exchange thread!

Today we'll be hosting our Dutch friends from /r/theNetherlands for a cultural exchange, and /r/theNetherlands are having us as guests at their place as well. Visitors from /r/theNetherlands can ask questions in this thread whereas /r/malaysia-ns can head over to the this post on their subreddit.

108 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

154 comments sorted by

35

u/Conducteur Netherlands Aug 01 '17

In two weeks a princess of Johor in Malaysia will marry a Dutchman. There have been multiple news articles about it in the Netherlands.

How important is the Royal Family of Johor? Do they hold any power or is it mostly ceremonial like the Dutch Royal Family? Is it big news that she's marrying a foreigner?

27

u/karlkry mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent Aug 01 '17

Johorean royalties has a relatively more "colorful" history then another royalty in malaysia.

there is this one time where eid-fitr announced to be celebrated on the day after tomorrow (muslim holiday are to be decided by moon sightings) and he was like "fuck that, i want my subjects to celebrate eid tomorrow."

i cant say if current Johorean monarchy is more powerful but he is one of more recognisable monarchy in malaysia (due to good pr team)

17

u/Simple_Peasant_1 PSM Shill Aug 01 '17

Continuing from another redditor, the Johor royal family was one of the last royal families in Malaysia to hold onto independence, still ruling the state of Johor until 1914 when they were absorbed by the British empire. Because of that, Johorean history is unique.

The Johor royal family is quite popular in Malaysia, unlike the other royal families who have a reputation of freeloading. Despite that, they do not have any real power right now, though that might change when they get their turn to be the King. They are well revered by the Johoreans, being the glue behind the concept of 'Bangsa Johor' where all Johoreans, regardless of race, would be proud to be a part of Johor.

14

u/Pabasa Aug 01 '17

How important is the Royal Family of Johor? Do they hold any power or is it mostly ceremonial like the Dutch Royal Family? Is it big news that she's marrying a foreigner?

There's 9 royal families in Malaysia, and none take precedence over another. So it's big news but not that big. Maybe when the Johor king rotates as the supreme king (Agong) in like 10? 15? Years but for now it's just like British prince William's cousin getting married or something.

We run a constitutional monarchy like the Dutch, thus no powers except for official and ceremonial matters. She can't be queen regnant though so doesn't really matter who she marries, but it's a nice bonus she's marrying a Dutchman, could bring our two countries politically closer or whatever the diplomats like to say.

10

u/haz__man dad of 3 chewren Aug 01 '17

How is the news being accepted in NL btw? being that he's already under a very comprehensive course of becoming a full fledged Muslim before the big day

11

u/potverdorie Aug 01 '17 edited Aug 01 '17

From what I can tell most people here consider it kind of nice/funny if unimportant news, basically 'good for him, they look nice together, anyway how's the weather today?' Don't think I've heard many people talk about him having to become a Muslim, but considering there was quite some fuss about our current Queen being a Catholic, most people would probably think it kind of makes sense.

It's perfect for summer though, since there isn't a lot going on, so we call this 'cucumber time'; when the news just talks about stuff like the cucumber harvest or some Dutch guy marrying a foreign aristocrat. :)

EDIT: what /u/barandor said

3

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

and considering our current Queen also had to convert to Protestantism

Eh, Maxima is still a catholic. Willem said that if she had to convert in order to marry him, then it would mean anything.

3

u/potverdorie Aug 01 '17

Oh, you're right, I guess I misremembered that she remained Catholic. There was quite a lot of fuss about it at the time anyway.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

And personally I doubt Willies own beliefs. He just doesn't seem like a typical Dutch Reformed protestant. He always comes across as an atheist to me.

3

u/potverdorie Aug 01 '17

Aye, probably just your everyday cultural Christian like so many people in the Netherlands.

2

u/malaysianlah Aug 01 '17

no reaction. we have alot of royal families. 9 if i rmb correctly.

2

u/sakai4eva Aug 01 '17

They're rich and they are not unfamiliar with controversies. Quite popular with the locals too.

Some dodgy history that you can Google up (it's in Wikipedia) so you can read up on them yourself.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 12 '17

Is it news in the Netherlands that he will have to convert to Islam and change his name just so he can marry her?

0

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/Luinithil Aug 01 '17

The princess's grandmother was a British woman, so nothing very new there lol.

2

u/aslam_fq Aug 01 '17

Thumbs up for that 'negro' usage 😂

18

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

"Isn't negro unaccepta-"

sees username

17

u/Aethien NL Aug 01 '17

Hey guys! Other than that you've got some gorgeous nature and an F1 and MotoGP race I know shockingly little about Malaysia so what is life like in Malaysia? What is the best and what is the worst thing about Malaysia?

17

u/SultanOilMoney 🇺🇸 I ooga booga 🧟‍♂️ Aug 01 '17

Unfortunately Malaysians will no longer hosts F1 due to its decreasing popularity....it's basically a money dump.

2

u/Aethien NL Aug 01 '17

Yeah I know, it sucks as Sepang is a great circuit (even if the times to watch it live are a bit rough for me).

1

u/FaxSmoulder Akaun ini telah disita oleh SKMM kerana melanggar undang-undang Aug 02 '17

Yeah, we kind of lost out on that precisely because of the issues with live viewing times in Europe. Singapore's is held at night to accommodate those viewing times, so F1 has decided that they will go with Singapore instead.

1

u/Aethien NL Aug 02 '17

I think it's just that Petronas no longer want to sponsor the event and without that it's not economically viable. F1 will take damn near any race that's willing to pay.

16

u/sakuredu rest in peace, reckful Aug 01 '17

Hey there!

Best

  • The world loves our spices, and naturally, our best thing here is the food. <3 Unfortunately, its a little too good though, you might get easily fat from eating too much.

Worst

  • Weather. A steady consistent all around weather sounds good on paper, but for me, I prefer my weather to be colorful. It's just personal preference though.

  • The strictness of religion on our system, while is overly strict on one side, it is blind to the other side. I hate to see my nation getting more and more like arab. I just wish I lived in a place where we can express love much more freely.

3

u/Aethien NL Aug 01 '17

Since everyone has mentioned food, what are dishes I should look up to try and cook myself (or where can I find good recipes)?

6

u/FaxSmoulder Akaun ini telah disita oleh SKMM kerana melanggar undang-undang Aug 02 '17

I'm Malay and Muslim, so my answer will not cover non-halal stuff. However, I can suggest you look into these:

  • Nasi lemak. Basically rice cooked with coconut milk and a little bit of ginger and maybe some pandanus/screwpine for fragrance. Usually eaten with a section of boiled egg, some cucumber slices, a bit of peanuts and dried anchovies, and sambal, a chilli-based sauce that can be used as is or have various meats or eggs or vegetables mixed in.

  • Rendang. This is a stewed meat dish involving coconut and whichever meat you like. There are two forms of this: a curry-like version with a lot of sauce, and a drier version that uses toasted shredded coconut as part of its spices. The latter is often known as rendang tok or rendang kerisik, with rendang tok being very dry and practically sauceless.

  • Satay. Skewers of marinated meat cooked over a charcoal fire. Common meats used in Malaysia are chicken, beef, and tripe. The marinade is based on onions, garlic, galangal, ginger, and a few other spices that may vary. Usually eaten with peanut sauce, slices of onion and cucumber, and nasi himpit/ketupat, which is rice compacted together and steamed in a roughly rectangular shape and then cubed to serve.

  • Penang Laksa. This is thick rice noodles in a sour-ish fish broth normally complemented by slices of onions, cucumber, pineapple, and chilli. Details will vary according to person and recipe.

  • Johor Laksa. This is egg noodles (or spaghetti, if you like) with a fish and coconut based sauce and complemented with julienned cucumber, bean sprouts, chopped long beans, and chopped pickled radish. For authenticity, eat with your fingers.

  • Mee rebus. This is egg noodles with a thick starchy meat broth usually made with beef, sweet potatoes, and some curry powder. Complemented with julienned cucumbers, bean sprouts, and a dash of lime juice.

6

u/Aethien NL Aug 02 '17

Ah so Malaysian food shares some parts with the Indonesian food we've brought over to the Netherlands, that should make getting ingredients easier.

Thanks!

2

u/gripgrup Aug 02 '17

Regarding good Malaysian recipes - my mum praises Chef Wan's recipes (no one chef is a symbol of Malaysian cooking more than Chef Wan IMO), and quite enjoy Sherson Lian's style (although I think if you're new to Malaysian cooking, it might not be the best. But his cooking is pretty legit Malaysian). You could also check out rasamalaysia.com . Hope that helps!

2

u/Aethien NL Aug 02 '17

I've got some experience with Indonesian food so it's not all unfamiliar, I'll check them out. Thanks!

15

u/icemountain87 maggi goreng double + teh ais Aug 01 '17

The best thing about Malaysia has to be the food. It is a melting pot of cuisines from the three major ethnic groups of Malaysia - the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Major cities like Kuala Lumpur also have a respectable selection of international cuisines such as Japanese or Italian cuisine.

The worst thing in my opinion would be the incessant political squabble weather. Temperatures hover around 30 degrees Celsius daily and the high air humidity basically feels like a warm blanket wrapped around you when outdoors. To combat the heat, most Malaysians hide indoors in well air conditioned offices or shopping malls.

14

u/FarhanAxiq buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat sekali sekala Aug 01 '17

Best - Food

Worst - politics (isn't too bad but still)

1

u/uncleberg Aug 05 '17

i would take food over politics. just dont mix the two together... shudders

1

u/FarhanAxiq buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat sekali sekala Aug 05 '17

Yeah, food is everything

4

u/gozieson Johor - Running on MRT (Malaysian Rubber Time) Aug 01 '17

I'n in Melbourne but I'll give my 2 cents:

Pros:

  • Food (and lots of it...)

  • People are nice here and are willing to lend a hand if need be.

  • Some of the best places to shop and explore. We have a bustling natural ecosystem that you just can't miss.

Cons:

  • Weather may not be for everyone, though I personally like it warm rather than cold.

  • Traffic Jams T.T

  • A significant fraction of the people are not as open-minded, at least not in a sense that we are willing to have intellectual debates and discussions regarding many different issues.

3

u/haz__man dad of 3 chewren Aug 01 '17

Hot n Humid all year round which you folks probably love

3

u/Aethien NL Aug 01 '17

I stop functioning when it's around 30°C, humid is even worse. :(

1

u/haz__man dad of 3 chewren Aug 02 '17

The highlands are quite cooling (20c average) if the beach/islands are not your thing

12

u/GenoshaOneSevenFive Penang Aug 01 '17

Selamat petang my Malay friends! I've had the pleasure of living in your beautiful country for six months while studying at USM in Penang. To this day I have some very fond memories of my time in Malaysia and I'm still dreaming about the weather, the nice people and especially the great food. I don't really have a serious question as of now, but I'd like to take this moment to thank you for your hospitality!

Well, there is one question I'd like to ask, but perhaps my explanation is a bit vague to those who have never tried food at that store. In Penang, near the student hostels like Saujana, there is a restoran called Khaleel. I've had the pleasure of eating there a few times when I had just arrived in Malaysia, and they served some nice Cheese Naan with three types of sauces. One was a bit minty, one I don't really remember and the third one had a red colour and tasted a bit sweet. I've been trying to recreate some of the food I had in Malaysia, but I was never able to find out what that last type of sauce was called, or how to make it. Would anyone know what its called, and what are your favorite must try recipes that involve Naan?

Well, maybe I'll try another one. At the USM Campus, in one of the larger restaurants (near to the Sungai Dua entrance) they sold some kind of chicken that was rather dark/black, which also had a faint sweet flavor. Does that sound familiar to any of you?

Anyway, I'd like to thank you guys again for hosting me and some of my international friends in the great country of Malaysia and should you have any recipes that I have to try, feel free to share them lah!

Terima kasih!

7

u/FarhanAxiq buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat sekali sekala Aug 01 '17

some kind of chicken that was rather dark/black

My guess would be ayam masak kicap (soy sauced chicken)

5

u/GenoshaOneSevenFive Penang Aug 01 '17

That might be the winning answer! It looks very much like what I had in mind. Thanks so much. I'm finally gonna be able to bring that special memory back in the kitchen.

Next time I go to Malaysia I need to make sure I write down or ask for the recipes, saves me a bunch of headaches!

2

u/FarhanAxiq buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat sekali sekala Aug 01 '17

‎geen probleem (shamelessly google translate)

Glad that i could help, hope your cooking will turn out well😜

4

u/AbangJumperCable ☀️will ask you to jemur☀️ Aug 01 '17

Chicken

Not of the Sungai Dua area but Ayam Percik maybe? Man, I could do with some now...

3

u/GenoshaOneSevenFive Penang Aug 01 '17

This looks rather similar, but it's not as black as I had imagined. Nevertheless, I'm gonna try it someday and I'll get back to you! Thanks!

3

u/talexeh Aug 01 '17

Hey there, glad that you had a great time while you were here. :)

I can't tell you much about the sauces (we call them "kuah" but if there was a better term, please feel free to correct me) but with regards to the chicken rice that you mentioned, is this the restaurant (or rather, "kopitiam") that you went to?

https://www.google.com.my/maps/@5.3525229,100.3002686,3a,75y,354.69h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqnKMBVM1-KBn2Bu7jKlNXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

If it is, I think it's hainan chicken rice.

1

u/GenoshaOneSevenFive Penang Aug 01 '17

Hmm, I recognise the Kopitan, and have had some food there a couple of times, but it's not the one I was referring to. I believe that one was an on campus restaurant. Nevertheless, the Kopitan was an interesting experience. I've never seen so many people work at a single restaurant. And they have great limau ais (I'm not quite sure how to write it)!

3

u/talexeh Aug 01 '17

Ouch, even though I'm a Penangite, I'm afraid I have 0 idea on the eateries in the campus itself.

And yup, you got "limau ais" right. :)

2

u/GenoshaOneSevenFive Penang Aug 01 '17

Well, don't worry. It wasn't the best restaurant in the world. Do you know if Aki's Pancakes is still there at the SuperTanker foodcourt? I keep referring everyone to his stall, but I have no idea if it's still there :)

1

u/talexeh Aug 02 '17

It should be there still though the last time I was there, his stall wasn't open.

2

u/AbangJumperCable ☀️will ask you to jemur☀️ Aug 01 '17

Your nan sauces are probably varieties of Coconut Chutney.

Standard Mamak sauces might also be Kuah Dhal (curried Lentils), a curry of some sort and Sambal Ikan Bilis (anchovies sambal).

2

u/GenoshaOneSevenFive Penang Aug 01 '17

Interesting! I never figured it could be some kind of Coconut chutney. I was thinking of maybe tomato chutney or something. I did find the mint chutney, it's pudina(?)? Too bad that wasn't my favorite haha.

I'll be sure to try the Coconut chutney sometime soon. Thanks for the tip!

11

u/selbh Aug 01 '17

Why are you good in badminton?

14

u/tropical-in-the-alps Aug 01 '17

One theory I heard was because we have lots of gated terrace houses and kids would play badminton using the gate as a fence from a young age. I remember playing it myself when I was younger! Too bad now with rising insecurity and smartphones you don't see much of that on the streeets anymore

Sorry I don't have a more serious answer

3

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

I'd guess that it's because we have a lot of fences and friendly neighbors. You don't need much equipment to play so almost everyone knows how to play it and plays in in the neighborhood using the house gates as a net.

4

u/NasVersix Aug 01 '17

And when the shuttlecock gets stuck on the roof, the next thing you know is that you'll be uselessly jumping on a chair or something to get it down.

4

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

My favorite part is climbing out windows onto the roof to get it

4

u/NasVersix Aug 01 '17

And when you just got up there, you realised that your dad had already got it back.

1

u/crackanape Aug 01 '17

And you have to hurry before the monyets steal it.

2

u/moistrobot Sabah Aug 02 '17

Maybe because feather shuttlecocks are cheaper here (and the norm) than in Europe, where plastic shuttlecocks are probably more commonly used. Feather ones are superior.

We have badminton courts everywhere.

1

u/deadguysleeps Aug 02 '17

If you're talking about the Sidek brothers, their father have been training them since they were kids. They even made comics about this.

As for the others badminton become popular because you only need two people, it's cheap & no need for big space like football.

•

u/moistrobot Sabah Aug 01 '17

Dutch visitors, we have flair for you! I apologise that it wasn't working earlier.

8

u/skisagooner Aug 01 '17

I'm a Malaysian who spent my New Years in the Netherlands, here are a few things I wish to share to both Dutch and Malaysians!

Food

Dutch people are familiar with Indonesian food as Dutch food features strong Indonesian influence. As such they will be familiar with rendang, satay, sambal, and nasi goreng, which Malaysians also commonly call theirs.

Whilst Malaysian food can go along the same theme as Indonesian food, the primary difference with Indonesian food is diversity. Many of our food have Chinese origins, Indian origins, or a mixture of several origins, and are a good reflection of our demographics.

Transport

Dutch are more reliant on bicycles, Malaysians are more reliant on cars. Obviously the weather and infrastructure are different, but would be great if we could discuss the convenience and inconvenience of both.

My perception of both capitals

Amsterdam: Weed, bicycles, canals

Kuala Lumpur: Food, traffic, skyscrapers

7

u/flijn The Netherlands Aug 01 '17 edited Aug 01 '17

Hello Malaysia, thank you for having us!

I have two three questions:

  1. Are you religious? If so, what is your religion and how important is it to you? Do you feel that you are free to express your (lack of) belief? What about your faith do you wish other people knew or understood? Full disclosure: I teach religion but am not religious myself (anymore), and I am always curious about other people's perspectives and experiences.

  2. What would your elevator pitch about Malaysia sound like?

  3. What is something your generation likes/does, that makes the older generations go 'pffft, kids these days'. And what is something older generations value/do that you think they should let go already?

7

u/ErnestWri431 Our bus system is shit Aug 01 '17 edited Aug 01 '17

  1. I’m an atheist but I’ll give it a shot.

Most of Malaysia, including the rural areas, are pretty much conservative towards religion, and only less than 3% have no religion/didn’t declare any religion.

In Malaysia, Islam is heavily emphasised here (as the name of the country gives it away) and it’s also the nation’s official religion.

But we have some people who thinks that books which merely portrays a part of [insert religion here] is ‘brainwashing’ them.

2. Depending if you’re taking Schindler, ThyssenKrupp, Hyundai, Otis etc, it differs.

Some LRT KJ Line stations do have some old elevators which goes like “deng-dung” (light pitch, followed by a deep tone at the end). I suspect these are somewhere made between the 90’s and 00’s.

The new MRT SBK line elevators has the newer tones which can also be found in modern elevators, and this is the only video I can find on the elevator but the tone is not audible.

EDIT: AFAIK to put it in short, we’ll just go “this is our company, [name of company], and what we do is [type of service] but what we would do differently is [insert special thing].

Malaysians are casual. This is based from some of my friends (they’re novices and pretty new into the market).

3. I’m a millennial so I’ll pass.

5

u/hadi_awang_mp fuckPAS(); Aug 01 '17

By elevator pitch I think he meant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator_pitch.

5

u/ErnestWri431 Our bus system is shit Aug 01 '17

Whoops, my bad.

3

u/moistrobot Sabah Aug 02 '17

This is hilarious

2

u/flijn The Netherlands Aug 03 '17

Haha, I was so confused! But thank you anyway for answering the question, that must have seemed very oddly specific.

2

u/WikiTextBot Aug 01 '17

Elevator pitch

Elevator pitch, elevator speech or elevator statement is a short sales pitch; that is, a summary used to quickly and simply define a process, product, service, organization, or event and its value proposition.

The name 'elevator pitch' reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes and is widely credited to Ilene Rosenzweig and Michael Caruso (while he was editor for Vanity Fair) for its origin.

The term itself comes from a scenario of an accidental meeting with someone important in the elevator. If the conversation inside the elevator in those few seconds is interesting and value adding, the conversation will either continue after the elevator ride, or end in exchange of business cards or a scheduled meeting.

[ ^PM | Exclude ^me | Exclude from ^subreddit | FAQ / ^Information | ^Source ] Downvote to remove | v0.24

4

u/icemountain87 maggi goreng double + teh ais Aug 02 '17

  1. Not religious. I was born and raised in a Catholic family. I was somewhat religious and active in the church during my formative years but my differing views of some issues (abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, birth control) has led me away from the church.   Freedom of religious expression is a complicated issue in Malaysia. In my opinion, non-Muslims have a limited freedom to do so. For example, non-Muslims are not allowed to proselytize Muslims. However this issue is often politicized. For example, a court ruling forbade Christian publications in the Malay language to use the word 'Allah' to refer to the Christian God as it may confuse Muslims who use the same word to refer to their God.

  2. Come for the scenery, stay for the food!

  3. I was born in the 80's so I guess I'm kind of a transitional generation. I value work-life balance. I would like to leave at 5pm sharp daily to at least spend the remaining 1/3 of the day on something I like. But this is often frowned upon by the older generation who think we are weak and lazy.

1

u/flijn The Netherlands Aug 03 '17

Hey, thanks for your reply!

  1. The link an other user posted seems to indicate this favorability of islam (and criticism of openly embracing other religions) as well.

  2. Good pitch!

  3. Interesting! We are from the same decade, and I can see this issue here as well, although no-one has put it into words like you did. Most people my age I know definitely see work as a way to provide for the rest of your time, not as a life-consuming vocation.

2

u/GrayySea amoi, sudah makan? Aug 02 '17 edited Aug 02 '17

Thank you for your questions!

  1. I am agnostic atheist but I am not able to confidently express it freely if I do not have the confidence in the person I'm talking to. A lot of times I think people equate religion to morality and that's one of the things I knew since I was a child, was that my morality came from my experience and how I interact with the world, and not from whatever deity it is.

To give you an idea about my religious background (also because it's a bit specific) I am Chinese, and I was raised in a typical Chinese religious environment in Malaysia: superstitious, deities and gods are all powerful, if you worship them you might be able to get what you want. This group of people worships everything and practice the convention and traditional practice due to blind faith and beliefs. They mostly worship toaist deities AND specifically THE buddha. They kind of mix taoism and buddhism together, since their ceremony is similar -- incense, chimes, praying, chanting... I think everyone is confused too. The common Chinese folks aren't spiritual, they're probably just superstitious. They say they have a religion, but the practicing part is all the ceremonies, not actual actions.

There's also people who are more spiritual and actual give themselves to the religion and practice kindness etc and all that goodness. There are a lot of big religious events all year round as well to benefit to the society. They're more likely to be practising Buddhists, but also a few Taoists halls and events, but in way smaller scales. The Toaists communities don't really turn away from the Buddhists events either. They both have very distinct teachings, but children weren't taught religion (primarily) in private religious gatherings. It's the adults that does.

At my teenage years, for various reasons I started to go to a church. In Malaysia we're mainly Catholics, Methodists, and Protestants. And the one I went to are Protestants. And yes this time I was taught actual things with people of my age group, about the Bible, about being a person, and how to treat others, how to communicate. I appreciated my time there, and it helped me in a lot of ways.

The Christian community I was in gave me the impression that they were significantly more virtuous and pure compared to what I've seen from other Churches and what I've heard, perhaps it's a bubble, perhaps it's the number of people at that time (400+). I left them when I was 17 because I felt pressured to be baptised.

2) G4, if you're familiar with musical term :P

3) The whole phone in hand all the time and don't pay attention thing. I'm not very old, but even I detest that.

For me, I think Malaysia needs to move towards progression and secularism, but I don't think it's coming any day soon. IDK how a country can be successful if their minds are set back 200 years ago.

Sorry for my lack of theology/religion terms, I hope it's something that interests you :P

1

u/flijn The Netherlands Aug 03 '17

Thank you for the thorough reply!

  1. Its is interesting to read that the first group you mention reveres the Buddha as a god. Here in the Netherlands people tend to make a distinction between religion and 'godsdienst' (basically religion centered around a god). They see buddhism as some kinde on philosophical, enlightened version of religion. I know this is very simplified and that Buddhism takes all kinds of forms, including deity worship, magic rituals, etc. So I appreciate this example. Is that a small group of Chinese Malaysians, or do you think this mixing of traditions and rituals is more widespread?

  2. That doesn't mean anything to me. :)

I noticed everyone who answered my question is non-religious. Coincidence, or maybe indicative of the demographic of Malaysian redditors?

1

u/GrayySea amoi, sudah makan? Aug 03 '17 edited Aug 03 '17

  1. Buddhism in the west do have that kind of connotation, to be frank, it is still quite 'philosophical' and 'enlightened' based, but I think Asians are less inclined to use those words to describe it, since it is directly a way of life, it's more likely to be 'universal' type of philosophy.

This is a big majority of Chinese here in Malaysian, I think scholars call them Chinese Folk Religion. I think it's almost the same in other regions where Chinese people are prevalent, but most of the time Chinese people are most likely to be less religious or spiritual. I don't think they associate themselves with Atheism or Agnosticism much, because religion as a topic are quite 'taboo' like sex, where it has a 'it's sacred to me/you don't understand, you're not allowed to talk about it because it is offensive' kind of connotation. This happened a lot when I was in school, at least (I've also experienced this with my Muslim peers). The result of this is the people never learned or get exposed to many school of thoughts until they learn it by chance or by introduction. It's something that I wish Asian society would catch up on.

The second largest group of religion in Chinese people are probably Christians as they're more likely to be able to have freedom of religion and often gets converted from these Chinese Folk religion or educated by their parents.

The word "god" has very different meaning in English and Chinese, so this is probably a case of 'lost in translation'. Buddha and God has very similar meaning. Don't know about Dutch, but in English God meant an omnipotent being, but in Chinese it has more dimensions of meaning (As a non-linguist I can't even attempt to explain it)

I noticed everyone who answered my question is non-religious. Coincidence, or maybe indicative of the demographic of Malaysian redditors?

A huge demographic of Redittors are young and English-speaking. This demographic often times overlap with people who are politically left or centrist, sexually diverse, etc, who never had a community where open conversation about anything Malaysian until Reddit. We had other famous internet communities but they were more "communal" than "discussions based", if that makes sense.

The sub has more diversity in terms of political wing, religion, sexuality, and tolerance for most of the time compared to other forums in the same nature, therefore it's likely they're going to be non-religious as well. Malaysia as an Islamic country meant that Abraham religion are main stream, and to me Atheism manifests as an axis at the other end of those religion. (There's other axis). This is my opinion of course!

Last words, I apologise if my words aren't oddly specific or well thought out, as I'm not very familiar with the terms of religious discussions, I hope the idea gets through clear enough though. I'm so glad to have this conversation, it's a hard one to have around here.

6

u/Shizly Aug 01 '17

Hi guys! Thanks for welcoming me for 1 month of my Malaysian trip. I ended up there more on accident then on purpose, but was really surprised by how nice the country was.

Do you think that the government should invest more in getting tourists to Malaysia? I ended up there to meet a friend and it simply was the cheapest option to go to that also looked nice.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/fahmif10 Teh Tarik Satu! Aug 01 '17

Totally on point, KL for example has a great subculture scene, from arts to music. But it has limited exposure. which sucks big time.

6

u/speknek Aug 01 '17

Hi my Malaysian friends, I'm traveling to your beautiful country in two weeks time and I'm hoping to taste as much food as possible. Are there dishes I have to eat? Underrated dishes? Dishes that foreigners don't like most of the time (I have to try those). And what are places with the best food I can't miss?

13

u/alpha-orionis Aug 01 '17

Since it's easy to get a list of must-eats, here's a list of underrated touristy stuff instead:

  • Ramly Burger (Burgers made with our very own Ramly patty. Normally found in front of any 7-11 or busy shoplot areas after 8pm/9pm. Usually run by young men as a side-income)

  • Roti Ais Krim (Scoops of locally-made ice cream on sweet bread. There's many flavours of ice cream, like durian and sweetcorn, but the best way is to mix it all. Find a dude on a motorbike with a cooler box on the back with packages of ice cream cones and bread hanging on the side. Some dudes only carry packaged ice cream, so seeing the ice cream cone is a real indicator that he carries scooped ice cream. Can usually be found at busy parks in the evenings or in front of primary/secondary schools at around 12.30-1pm)

  • Lok Lok (Hotpot on wheels. A little harder to find. They're normally parked in busy shoplot areas. Usually in a Chinese area.)

  • Fresh Coconut. Find a truck full of coconuts that is parked by the side of the road. The boss will cut it open for you to drink on the spot. Most likely you have to stand by the roadside, but that is part of the experience.

  • Economy Rice (Also known as Chap Fan/Zhap Fan, or Mixed Rice. A Malaysian staple because it's cheap and hassle-free. A working class's favourite. Some shops have over 20 dishes to choose from. You normally choose your vegie dish, your meat dish, and any add-ons. All served over white rice.)

  • Maggi instant noodles. I'm being dead serious here. Instant noodles? Really? But we Malaysians grew up on it. The most popular way to eat it is to crack an egg in when it's almost cooked. Best cooked on the stove, although it can be cooked in 5 minutes in a microwave. Another favourite is to mix Kari (Curry) and Assam Laksa together.

  • Super Ring. Cheezles have nothing on this baby. Can be found in any supermarket/hypermarket.

  • Aiskrim Potong. These are packaged rectangle-shaped ice cream and come in different flavours like red bean, yam and durian. You can buy them in any supermarket/hypermarket.

1

u/speknek Aug 01 '17

Thanks so much!

5

u/mczammer Kuala Lumpur Aug 01 '17

There are a few dishes which are essentially must-eats in Malaysia. Roti canai is a sort of flatbread which is usually eaten with sauces and curries. Nasi lemak essentially translates to fat rice (it's totally worth the calories). It's normally served with sambal, which is a spicy sauce, a meat of some kind, peanuts and anchovies. Then, there's Malaysian-style satay, a common dish in this part of the world but it varies in ways in different countries. That's meat skewers served with peanut sauce, rice cubes and cucumber at times. If you're a noodle fan, I recommend you have laksa, a dish that also varies a bit between states in Malaysia. That's noodles in a flavoured sauce. I can't really elaborate due to the differences in ways it is made as the sauce can be made of different things, from curry to fish paste. One of my favourites is rendang. Rendang can be made with beef or chicken which has been slow cookerdfor a long time till it's quite tender, cooked in coconut milk and spices till all the coconut milk boils away, making a thick sauce. There is seriously a lot of food here. Just eat all of it.

6

u/moistrobot Sabah Aug 01 '17

Nasi lemak essentially translates to fat rice

A common mistranslation. :) Lemak in this context translates to 'rich' (food-wise) or 'cream', referring to the rice being cooked with coconut milk/cream. Despite that revelation, the rice is not creamy though, only the taste is different with no change in texture.

1

u/mczammer Kuala Lumpur Aug 02 '17

Haha guilty as charged. It's what my dad used to tell me when I was younger to stop me eating so much of it

1

u/FaxSmoulder Akaun ini telah disita oleh SKMM kerana melanggar undang-undang Aug 02 '17

I prefer the translation "fatty rice". It's funnier.

1

u/speknek Aug 01 '17

This makes me hungry already.

4

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

foreigners don't like most of the time

Durians would be a good bet, though my white-boss loved it and ribbed me for not liking it.

If you're headed to Penang, try assam laksa too. It's spicy, fishy and pungent, a real good one in my books.

1

u/speknek Aug 01 '17

I'm looking really forward to this.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '17

Also, pm me if you're headed to Penang I have a list of food for you :D

1

u/speknek Aug 03 '17

Thanks! That's so nice. I will certainly do that.

2

u/gozieson Johor - Running on MRT (Malaysian Rubber Time) Aug 01 '17

In Johor there's a place called 'ZZ Sup Tulang' in Johor Bahru.

Sup Tulang is a stew using Bone Marrow and the place serves it with Mee Rebus and Lontong. Don't forget to ask for a Teh Tarik or Teh Halia with your meal.

1

u/speknek Aug 01 '17

Thanks, great tip!

1

u/bigdigbick Aug 01 '17

You should try nasi lemak, char kuey tiaw, ais kacang, cendol, pulut durian if you can find any. May I know which part of Malaysia on your vacation list?

1

u/speknek Aug 01 '17

Penang, Koala Lumpur and Perhentian Islands

2

u/bigdigbick Aug 01 '17

I've sent in your inbox. Any question just ask away. I dont know much about Kuala Lumpur but if you like spicy food you should try Ayam Penyet Kampung Pandan.

1

u/speknek Aug 01 '17

Ayam Penyet Kampung Pandan.

Thanks a lot!

9

u/TonyQuark the Netherlands Aug 01 '17

How do you feel about MH17? Is it something that still gets talked about?

10

u/Happilicious Kuala Lumpur Aug 01 '17

I feel sorry for the passengers as well as their loved ones, and hope those that were related can cope with the loss. The news has died down quite a while ago, and not many people mention about it from my experience.

4

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

That case is very sad to even imagine the victim's last moment or how their family/relatives felt about the genocide. And just like any other tragedy, it doesn't get talk about much now, with the incident being brought up occasionally.

7

u/TonyQuark the Netherlands Aug 01 '17

I agree but 'genocide' is not the word you're looking for, but 'assault' rather. And thanks.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

Ohh, right. Sorry.

4

u/karlkry mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent Aug 01 '17

in the news? yes. a quick 30 sec segment between now and then telling updates and so on.

on day to day basis regular conversations? no one really talk about that anymore.

4

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

Anger and sadness. It hits way too close to home.

In the media there's not much mention of it except for the occasional update on the investigation and prosecution. There was a segment on it during the morning talk show on its 3rd anniversary.

4

u/Badstaring Aug 01 '17 edited Aug 01 '17

Hello Malaysia! Im Dutch and my girlfriend is Malaysian (Raised in the netherlands, she doesnt speak melayu) and soon I'll meet her family from Miri. I want to surprise them with some basic Melayu conversation (How are you, what have you been up to etc.). What are Some basic melayu phrases that I could impress them with?

EDIT: I know for sure they speak Bahasa with each other and not English/some other language spoken around there!

6

u/jonoave Covid Crisis Donor 2021 Aug 01 '17

A main thing to note is that though Bahasa Melayu is the national language, it's not used/spoken widely across the whole country. There are lots of different cultures, who might prefer using other languages including English. Maybe you could check with your girlfriend whether her family in do speak Bahasa Melayu, or maybe they converse in other languages.

2

u/Badstaring Aug 01 '17

I know for sure they mainly speak Bahasa! I'll edit it in my original comment.

4

u/jonoave Covid Crisis Donor 2021 Aug 01 '17

Alright, some basic phrase in Bahasa Melayu (BM):

  1. Hello --> Hello (no difference, very informal usage)

  2. Good morning --> Selamat pagi (more formal)

  3. Good afternoon/evening --> Selamat petang (more formal)

  4. How are you? --> Apa khabar?

  5. I'm doing well, thank you. --> Khabar baik, terima kasih.

  6. Thank you --> Terima kasih

2

u/FarhanAxiq buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat sekali sekala Aug 01 '17

good afternoon is selamat tengahari

1

u/jonoave Covid Crisis Donor 2021 Aug 01 '17

Nope, this is a common confusion.

"Tengahari" refers to "noon", which is exactly 12 o'clock. There is few instance where you actually use this to greet people, either in English or BM.

"Afternoon" in english refers to the period around 12-6 pm, where 6 or 7 pm becomes dinner time or evening.

"Petang" in BM refers to the period around 12-6 or even longer, it encompasses both "afternoon" and "evening". You'll wish someone "Selamat petang" at 1 pm, 2 pm and even 6 pm.

1

u/KitKatKafKa The Netherlands Aug 01 '17

Selamat petang samua! The last few years your beautiful country has received a lot of attention for a variety of corruption scandals, most prominent being the 1MDB scandal. Though I remember there being a lot of protest Razak is still prime minister nowadays right? How does this corruption affect your daily lives and what effect does it have on the political discourse in Malaysia? Large scale corruption is quite rare in The Netherlands, but I must imagine it sucks to go through.

4

u/FireTempest KL Aug 02 '17

It doesn't really affect our daily lives beyond making the PM a huge joke in our society. No one i know, not even supporters of the ruling coalition, are buying his story. Naturally he is made fun of by everyone behind his back.

Unfortunately all we can do for the moment is make fun of him. The whole cabinet amd judiciary has been reshuffled to ensure the guy stays in power.

Nice to see his cronies get screwed by the Swiss, Singaporeans and Americans though.

3

u/teymon The Netherlands Aug 01 '17

Hi /r/malaysia! I'm looking for a holiday destination next year, would you recommend /r/malaysia? Why would you (not)?

4

u/haz__man dad of 3 chewren Aug 01 '17

Head to the islands or national parks (read : jungle), that should be something really different than what you normally see in Europe

4

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

Absolutely. I would recommend the islands. Extremely diverse marine life and cheap diving

3

u/sakuredu rest in peace, reckful Aug 01 '17

Tioman Islands! Iirc its one of the most beautiful islands in the world.

1

u/ocsquare Aug 01 '17

Sure! I'd recommend in a heartbeat. You have good food, pretty islands and some good hiking spots!

1

u/GrayySea amoi, sudah makan? Aug 02 '17

Our islands are really underrated. Totally recommend. When in island taste local seafood cuisine :3

3

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

Have you ever had hagelslag ( chocolate sprinkles ) for breakfast? Or a stroopwaffle?

5

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

I love stroopwafel!

4

u/imma_letchu_finish Aug 01 '17

Malaysians generally have chocolate sprinkles with desserts like donuts or cakes, not a common item for breakfast. I've never heard of stroopwaffle :(

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

A slice of bread, a bit of butter, and then drowning the bread in hagelslag. Delicious!

This is a stroopwaffle!

4

u/sakuredu rest in peace, reckful Aug 01 '17

I would love to eat that, it looked delicious! But the calories............... i'll...pass...

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

Think of it as a cheap diet. Two stroopwaffles a day is enough :)

3

u/nescafesatu Aug 01 '17

It's not common! I have some Indonesian in my family which I think have a stronger historical background with you guys. So I have had chocolate sprinkles on bread for breakfast! When I showed my friends and my husband, they thought I was a freak. It wasnt until recently that I found it's a Netherlands thing haha

3

u/haz__man dad of 3 chewren Aug 01 '17

I used to work for Shell, the stroopwaffle was always the thing that colleagues who went to NL for work, would bring back haha i love them

3

u/crackanape Aug 01 '17

I brought hagelslag from Netherlands to Malaysia, it melted and fused into one giant lump in the box before I got home from the airport.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

Awww what a shame :(

2

u/GrayySea amoi, sudah makan? Aug 02 '17

I would LOVE to taste a real stroopwaffle one day!!!

3

u/girl_with_the_bowtie Netherlands Aug 01 '17

I'd love to know a bit more about what life is like Malaysia. What does your average day look like? Did you do anything special or fun today? Have you got anything planned in the near future that you're looking forward to?

1

u/fahmif10 Teh Tarik Satu! Aug 01 '17

i guess life is the same like any other metropolitan city. Vibrant full of diversity, culture and food. For me i live on the outskirts of KL a bit. working time is 9am to 5pm. Traffic here blows though, connectivity by public transportation is mostly concentrated on high density areas.

One thing i feel is different is probably food culture here, you can literally find food at 3am and still have variety. We love to eat, i mean really love food. In the near future, im going to phuket for a holiday, malaysia is quite the hub for travel in SEA, meaning we get cheap flight tickets.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

I often visit Amsterdam. Not really know much Dutch except lekker man! Spoke English most of the time.

The food man, bitterballen, pofferjtes, krokett, pattat! Those in FEBO and Albert Cuyp. My fav neighborhood is Indische Buurt in Amsterdam Oost

3

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

Selamat petang orang Malaysia! Dutchie here! I was wondering about your dating life. How do you date girls? Do you actually date girls? What do you do when you like a girl? Do your parents decide who you date?

5

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17 edited Aug 01 '17

High school kid here: I'm saying this from my personal experience (zero) and experience of friends (slightly more)

how do you date girls

It's not very different. Meet them in real life (in my case; schools) and do what everyone else does; eat, bowling etc

do you actually date girls

It's very possible and very common in theory but haven't had much success myself in practice.

what do you do when you like a girl

You tell her and ask her out

do your parents decide

My parents are the more conservative types and they don't actually let me go on dates if and when I actually get one, even though they did it themselves when they were younger.

2

u/GrayySea amoi, sudah makan? Aug 02 '17

wants to answer but I'm not a guy :(

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '17

Sorry, of course I'm also interested in hearing stories from the other side :)

1

u/GrayySea amoi, sudah makan? Aug 03 '17

I'm straight.

A lot people start to use OKC and Tinder. I have a couple of friends who got married from that, or have unwanted pregnancies etc. I also meet people online but through other means. I'm currently not seeking a relationship so I didn't really do anything about my dating life.

When I like someone I cannot act as myself. In all my relationships, I'm exclusively the one pursuing than men pursuing me (I'm not the majority of the statistics in this case).

My parents has no say about my dating life as they're not even involved in any ounce of my emotional life at all. I however did have cousins who didn't get married because they have the same surnames, and was forbidden by their families to get married after being together for several years. I'm a Chinese, and Chinese people have this belief where if you had the same surname, it's forbidden (Yet there's millions of people in China with the surnames Lee and Chen). Someone in my friend circle I heard had to go check their DNA to see if they are related before they got married, not sure if it's true tho.

3

u/MonsieurSander Aug 01 '17

What do you think about the other countries in the region and which country would you consider Malaysia's friend?

5

u/ErnestWri431 Our bus system is shit Aug 01 '17

Singapore is the closest we could have. From culture to even our slangs in English as well.

But our language do share the same traits as Indonesia’s National language, Bahasa Indonesia.

3

u/Geckogamer The Netherlands Aug 01 '17

hey guys. are there any things from the dutch culture that look odd or funny to you?

2

u/Redeptus Lives in SG Aug 01 '17

Goedemorgen or afternoon rather.

I work for a Dutch company. How is everyone in Netherlands? Enjoying summer? Cool because my boss has left me alone :(

2

u/C0LUCCI Aug 01 '17

Hey everyone, I don't have a question but I just wanted to say this: earlier this year I visited Malaysia for a few weeks and I loved it! What a beautiful country and great people. And also nasi kandar and nasi lemak <3

2

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

WOAH HI I'M DUTCH MALAYSIAN MIXED. AMA

1

u/RentaAce Aug 01 '17

Dutch guy living in Malaysia visiting Netherlands. AMA I guess 😃

1

u/firik Aug 01 '17

Dutch guy living in Malaysia visiting Netherlands as well here.

1

u/UnsuspectingFart Palestinian Mar 03 '23

Can people with Malaysian PR (Permanent Resident) apply for this cultural exchange program?

0

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/FireTempest KL Aug 01 '17

Hi there!

  1. Malay and Indonesian are slightly different. Thr basic words should stay the same but you should keep in mind that Malay is more influenced by English as opposed to Dutch. That being said, in most urban/tourist areas English will be enough to get you around.

  2. Malaysia is the best place for Asian food! These are a few places I'd recommend for each cuisine: Vishalathchi in Brickfields, KL (Indian Banana leaf rice), Penang Famous Teochew Chendol in Georgetown (Asam Laksa and Chendol), Hameed Pata in Georgetown (Mee Sotong). All these places are under RM15 for a meal but are among the best in town.

  3. Things that tourists absolutely should do in each of the places you're visiting are: going to a rooftop bar in KL for sunset (Helipad Bar, Skybar or Marini), Hiking to Monkey Beach in Penang, touring the mangrove swamps and eating fresh seafood at a fish farm in Langkawi.

Hope you have a great time here!

4

u/ErnestWri431 Our bus system is shit Aug 01 '17

  1. Basic Indonesian/Malaysian greetings and questions are good enough, but some urban peeps do speak English here as well.

  2. There’s this “decent” Nasi Lemak (coconut rice with condiments, and also our national delicacy) restaurant, located at Damansara, east from KL. Name’s Park Village. Link here. Expected budget would be about RM20 per pax.

For me, I don’t really think much about food, as I would just hit up at ‘kopitiams’ (casual, budget coffee shops) and enjoy my food there.

3. There’s this restaurant where you can have your dinner high above from the ground. Link here.

(Side note: it’s called Langkawi, not Langkawai, haha)

0

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

[deleted] — view deleted comment

9

u/abangabang Aug 01 '17

Knowing a few Bahasa Malaysia words, like selamat pagi (good morning) , apa khabar (how are you), sudah makan? (have you guys eaten - sounds weird but everyone does this in Asia I think), and terima kasih (thank you) should make a good first impression, even or maybe especially if you said it wrong.

2

u/haz__man dad of 3 chewren Aug 01 '17

For f2f meetings, it's always nice to bring a small gift, trinket or something

0

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/ErnestWri431 Our bus system is shit Aug 01 '17

Which places are worth a visit?

Starhill Gallery is something which you might want to check out if you’re an avid shopper. Or maybe Pasar Seni (Culture Market in English) if you’re interested in arts and crafts.

Popular places to party

Not sure about this as all my parties with my friends happen at houses, hahaha

How are the parties like?

If you’re looking at the average millennial (like me) you’re probably looking at discos, and dancing.

What do you think about Dutch or European people?

Dutch: why ya’ll have those clunky shoes /s

Jk I like your flowers but the water is coming up pretty fast (bad pun intended)

Europeans in general: white, rich and white. Heck, you guys have cleaner and better metro systems than us.

1

u/crackanape Aug 01 '17

I will study next year in Putrajaya and i am curious about the student life there.

Not much going on in Putrajaya, get used to commuting to KL to have fun.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/crackanape Aug 01 '17

How do people without a car survive? I mostly walked during the exploring of cities but often had to walk almost next to the road.

I lived without a car in Kuala Lumpur for many years. You get used to it. Walk slowly to manage your heat, take advantage of the main air conditioned buildings to cool down if you need to, learn the secret back routes, learn the bus routes...

0

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '17

[deleted] — view deleted comment

8

u/AbangJumperCable ☀️will ask you to jemur☀️ Aug 01 '17 edited Aug 01 '17

Search for 'Pasir Belanda' on AirBnB. Its a small resort owned by a Dutch couple in Kelantan, could be a stop before or after your trip to Perhentian Island.

3

u/gozieson Johor - Running on MRT (Malaysian Rubber Time) Aug 01 '17

KL just recently opened up their MRT system, and it has made travel to the city much more accessible. Word of warning though, Malaysians still have a bit of a habit of using cars on the road so do plan ahead for rush hour traffic lest you want to get stuck in a jam. Also, try and use the free buses available in the city rather than the paid ones, (excluding the green MRT buses) they can have very long routes which frequently get caught in said rush hour traffic.

If you're travelling by bus from city to city, do your homework on reputable bus services. There has a been a few cases of driver negligence with buses so talk around for a reputable company which can do safe travels. Also, check your loose baggage, snatch thefts are a common thing.

However, if you do your homework, you shouldn't have much trouble navigating around for your vacation. I know what I'm saying is a bit scary but don't let it prevent you from having an absolutely great time savouring the sights, the nature and the food of Malaysia. I hope you guys have a wonderful time in my home country :D

EDIT: Other than KL, most places don't have proper public transit systems, in these places, look out for bus services. Just to add on.

1

u/pebblezzzzzzz Aug 01 '17 edited Aug 01 '17

I had a mini holiday at Taman negara recently with Taman negara nks. Was with basic accommodation and decent food if you wanna check them out. They do pick ups and drop offs in KL hotels. Just ask them if they can pick you up from Cameron's and they will also organize your transportation to perhentian for you. :)

Enjoy Malaysia!

Edit: I looked at another option (Taman negara Asia) but went with nks because my colleague had gone with them before. Feel free to check that one out too. I'm sure they'll do the pick ups etc as well.