Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Introduction of Malaysia

Malaysia comprises the Malay Peninsula or formerly known as Malaya with the Bornean state of Sabah and Sarawak. It is country where you can see the different cultures exist in harmony situation. The ethnic groups include the indigenous groups Orang Asli, Malay, Chinese, Indian and others. 50.4% of the population is the Malay, the main ethic group in Malaysia and follow by the other bumiputra which is 11% of the population. Chinese descent made up of 23.7% of population while 7.1% of the population is Indian. Different ethnic groups own their culture hence Malaysia become a multi-cultural country. Bahasa Malaysia is the official language and Islam is the national faith. However other languages and beliefs are allowed because the government gave the freedom to the people. 
Culture and Tradition of Malaysia
·         Malays
Malays in Malaysia are known as bumiputra or sons of the soil. They are generous and hospitable with an easy smile. Today, Malays who live in rural area still lead a simple lifestyle. The area they live at called kampong, where you are able to see the wooden houses propped up on stilts above courtyards shaded by coconut palms, banana and papaya trees. And also, the children run around, cycling and playing football which you cannot find it in the city area. Mosque is the most sacred place for the Malays. They will pray for six times within one day. The youth and children may wear short and blue jeans. However the most comfortable dress code stills the cotton sarung. For the elderly, they will roll at the waist and wear with either a batik shirt or T-shirt. During the special occasion such as Hari Raya Haji, the Malays wear their traditional costume to celebrate.  The women will wear baju kurung while men wear baju melayu and songkok.

However, the Malays in city area are extremely different from those live in rural area. Those who live in city wear Western-style clothes, speak English fluently, drive cars and carry mobile phones. The youths follow up the latest in street fashion, love hard rock and heavy metal. During the celebration of special occasion they would not wear the traditional costume anymore.

The traditional games include Silat, sepak takraw, wau, gasing, wayang kulit and congkak. Silat can be martial arts as well as international sport or traditional dance form.  The Malays believe that by practicing the silat can strengthen one’s spiritual. During some special occasion such as wedding, silat is accompanied with drums and gongs and performed. Wau is a traditional kite which is very popular in Kelantan. Traditionally, the Malays play wau after rice harvest season. Some of the traditional handicrafts include labu sayong, belanga, terenang and others. Labu sayong is a black colored gourd shaped clay jar typically used to store and cool water. Belanga is a round base and wide rim and it is used to cook curry. While some of the traditional Malay dances include Malay Mak Yong, Kuda Kepang, Zapin, and Joget. Joget is one of the most popular Malay dances. The dance is performed by couples who combine fast, graceful movement with playful humor.





                                       

·         Chinese
In the past, although the Chinese population was low, they control the major industries such as rubber, tin and the commercial sectors. Nowadays, the Chinese is everywhere in Malaysia from the trading centre in Kuala Lumpur to smallest shop up the Rejang River in Sarawak. The Chinese in Malaysia have to learn Bahasa Malaysia or Malay language because it is the official language of the country. But their language, Chinese and all the dialects are allowed too. The younger generation is influenced by the Western culture. For example, during the Chinese New Year, men should wear the traditional costumes such as dragon shirts, Kung Fu suits and Chinese coats. For the women, Cheongsam or Qipao is the suit for Chinese New Year.

As days evolved, all these traditional costumes are no longer wore. They wear jeans and T-shirt for the celebration. However the T-shirt normally will be in red color as Chinese believed that it is auspicious color. The numeral 8 is the Chinese most favorite number where you can see it at house number as well as car license plate. The numeral 8 sounds like the Cantonese character for prosper. The number 4 is avoided because it sounds like death.    

Self-help and industriousness is a strong belief among the Chinese community. Chinese believed when the more effort you put in, there more you will get. And also, close family and clan ties are important. The family always comes first in the Chinese community. This can be proved that during the eve of Chinese New Year, all the family members will reunion to have a reunion dinner. The Chinese community is also known for their hardship and pioneering. There are three important Chinese code of ethic, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Confucian ethical teachings include Li, Hsiao, Yi, Xin, Jen and Chung. Li includes all the ritual, propriety and etiquette. Hsiao is the love within the family and Yi is righteousness. Xin is honesty while Jen is benevolence and Chung is loyalty. Feng shui is one of the Chinese belief system based on geomantic omens. Feng shui is used when the Chinese people move into a new house or when people are dead.   





·         Indian
2000 years ago, Indian began to explore and visit Malaysia as the rumors of fortune in a land their ancestors known as Suvarnadvipa or golden peninsula was widely spread. Until the 19th century, Indians start to arrive in big number and stay in Malaysia and employed as rubber tappers and other plantation laborers such as oil palm. Most of them came from south India and was Tamil while only small number was Sikh, Bengali, Keralan, Telugu and Parsi.

Today most Indians can be found at every state of Malaysia but they mostly concentrated in the states of Selangor, Perak and Penang. Most of them is still work as manual laborers on plantation sites. They own less than one percent of the country’s corporate wealth. With the economic prosperity country had achieved, the Indian communities are now well represented in the various professions such as lawyer.

Hinduism is most of the Indians religion. The religion thought is based on Vedas. 3000 years ago, the Vedas were written down in Sanskrit and explain the customs and belief of the Aryas. They believe every form of creature has an immortal soul. It will migrate to another body after death called rebirth or reincarnation. The faithful Hindus are strict vegetarians. The Hindu will not complaint about their present state whether sickness and misery as well as health and prosperity. They believed it is deserved consequences for their previous life. The common outfits for the women are sari and salwar-kameez. Men normally dress more comfort and the most common clothing is kurta.   




Malaysia Indigenous Group
·         Orang Asli in Peninsula Malaysia

ü  Semang/ Negritos



Semang is the oldest group of people who live in the northern rainforest, includes the highlands of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Pahang and northern region of Perak. Their population is around 2000 and had remained unchanged for a century. Semang can be divided into 6 sub groups, Batek, Jahai, Kensiu, Kintak, Lanon and Mendrik.  Semang have darker skin, curlier hair and very muscular. The contributing factor for their physical appearance perhaps is the rainforest home. However, nowadays some of them live a semi-settled existence while some still maintain their very traditional lifestyle.


They normally roam in a group which consists of not more than 30 people. The women collect yams, berries, nuts, fruits and leaves from their daily food needs. For the men, they do the hunting jobs such as snare deer and wild pigs. The weapons used to hunt the animals include blowpipes and bows and arrows. Bows and arrows are used for the hunting of birds, monkeys and squirrels. Their shelter; roof made up of large leaves and is supported by poles, floor made up of split bamboos. They bring little impact to the environment due to they are original conservationists. They never practice even the basic cultivation and living a totally organic existence. There is a quote mentions he is the true child of the rainforests, nature’s own gentleman.





ü  Senoi/ Sakai
Although they arrived later than Semang, their dialects have the same Mon Khmer roots.The main differentiation from Semang is they are being slightly taller, having paler skin and wavy hair. They are the largest group among the Orang Asli comprises 40,000 people. Their lifestyle is totally different from Semang.
They adapt the shifting cultivation, fishing, trapping, and hunting and collect rainforest products. And the most unique about Senoi is they are expert in blowpipe skills. For the cultivation, they plant rubber, fruit, crops and cocoa. Now, many of them had entered the lifestyle which similar to most of the Malaysians. They can be found in Kelantan, Perak, Pahang and Selangor.





ü  Proto-Malays
Their ancestral root same as the current group of Malays in Malaysia. They can be found in Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and southern Johor. They are differentiated from other Malays by their Malay dialects. Their lifestyle is similar to Senoi but they have more contact with outsiders like Chinese and Malays. Their mainstream of income comes from the collection of rainforest products too. They are the most numerous populations with 9,000 people only.  



·         Sabah
ü  The Kadazandusun
Kadazandusun is combination of 2 Malay words, Kadazan and Dusun. People of Penampang and Papar use Kadazan to describe themselves. Dusun means orchard or upcountry people. Now, Kadazandusun is politically right term used for those Dusunic speaking indigenous people.

Most of the Kadazandusun is rice farmers. So, the rituals related to rice cultivation are important to Kadazandusun as rice is their main income. One of the most important festivals is Harvest Festival. The rice grain is honored and protected to make sure the next year harvest will be better. Usually women are the ritual specialists and they are known as bobohizan. All the major traditional rites are performed by them. However as time keep evolve, many Khadazandusun convert their religion to Christianity. And also the reluctance of younger generation to learn the complex rituals had caused the bobohizan are literally a dying breed. Ruring the festival, traditional ceremonies, dances, music and games are held. One of the famous products is the tapai, rice wine.


There are different sub groups in Kadazandusun namely Lotud, Dusun Tindal, Muslim Bisaya, and Tatana. The Kadazandusun are renowned for the basketware such as backpacks used by farmers and the intricate hats. Once before, they are agriculturalists but now change to profession jobs.






ü  The Rungus
One of the sub groups from Kadazandusun who living in the Kudat district. They are the indigenous people who maintain their traditional lifestyle longer than the other indigenous groups. The longhouses are the shelther for the Rungus in the past. Normally, a longhouse will have several families inside it. Now, they stay as single family. Handicraft skills is the expertise of Rungus women especially the fabric weaving. Woven baskets, beaded necklace and sashes are some of the products that the Rungus women produced. For the men, they produce gong which is the important musical instrument.  





ü  The Murut
In Sabah southwest area, at least 12 Murutic-speaking tribes are living there. People of the river or the Timugon Murut live along the Pegalan River around Tambunan. Tagal Murut, another Murut group is widespread throughout the southwest area of Sabah. A distinctive feature of Murut longhouses is a type of trampoline or lansaran where men leap high to try to grab a prize such as money.





ü  Bajau
Bajau or their nickname, sea gypsies are the most colorful of all the Malay-speaking people. Boats are still preferable living place for some of the Bajau Laut. But now most of them live a settled existence too. The Bajau are more concentrate at Mengkabong area. They live a semi waterborne life, dwelling in houses built on stilts over the water and connected by the boardwalk. One of the most interesting facts is their children know how to swim before walk. Sampan is one of the transportation tools for the housewives to visit their neighbors.
Another group of Bajau who spread inland from the coast, mostly live at Kota Belud region. Their daily activities include farming instead of fishing, raising rice and cattle. They are called Cowboys of the East due to the riding and raising horse skills.


  
·         Sarawak
ü  Iban
With the population around half a million, Iban is the biggest ethnic group in Sarawak. They live at the areas of Ulu Ai. Initially they were settled down at Kapuas River basin in Kalimantan. They take the responsibility to protect the river systems where they settled. They identified themselves as Kami Saribas and Kami Krian. Kami is a Malay word which means we. Longhouses along the main river are the majority of Iban’s shelter. However the urbanization caused most of them migrate to urban town and work in the civil service or in the business sector.

They are expert in the making of large longboats which can accommodate 40 to 50 men. They believed in animistic and spirit world of mystical deities and legendary heroes. There are different festivals celebrated among the Ibans such as Gawai Kenyalang, Gawai Antu, and Gawai Batu. Gawai Kenyalang commemorates the bravery of warriors and Gawai Antu is to appease the dead souls. Before the rice planting season, they will celebrate Gawai Batu to plea a good harvesting. Gawai Dayak is the biggest celebration and Harvest Princess is choosen from the local community. Yong girl or women who are not married from various districts are dressed in their finest costume and silver to parade.

The most favorite sport among them is cock fighting. The traditional life of Iban is communal and democratic. Each family owns a standard size room in a longhouse. A headman will be chosen for each of the family. And among the headman, they will elect one chief called penghulu as a leader for the whole.









ü  Bidayuh
There are different sub groups, Bukar /Sadong (Serian district); Biatah(Kuching district); Singgai(Bau district); Jagoi(Bau district) Lara and Selakau(Lundu district). They are known as Land Dayak before because they lived in the hilly areas of Kuching. One of the main activities is the padi shifting cultivation on hilly farmland.





ü  Orang Ulu
All the people of the interior of Sarawak including Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Lun Bawang, Bisaya, Kejaman, Sekapan, Lahanan, Sihan Ukit and Penan are referred as Orang Ulu. Most Orang Ulu was animistic previously but now are Christians. Their main occupation is wet padi cultivation. The buffalo is highly valued among the Orang Ulu. It normally used as dowry for a bride and the numbers given depends on their social class. Extended earlobes are one of the characteristics of Orang Ulu women. And also, finely patterned tattoos can be found on their forearms and legs.
Social hierarchy system is practiced by the Orang Ulu. Hence, they respect their chiefs. In the longhouse, the chief owns a larger apartment in a central position and the other villagers are spread out from the both sides depends on their social class. Orang Ulu are considered as gentle people whereby they love graceful dance as well as sing.





ü  Melanau
Along the coast and estuary of the Rejang river is the kampong settlements for the Melanau. Traditionally, Melanau were fishermen and producers of the sago palm flour. Once before, the ancient communities lived in longhouse type tall houses built on stilts. Liko, people of the river was the old religion for Melanau. Now most of their religion is either Christians or Muslims. Liko relates to nature. Hence the Melanau live harmoniously with the environment. System of traditional healing called berbayuh and berayun is practiced by Pagan Melanau. 



Languages
Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of Malaysia. Previously it was known as Bahasa Melayu. The government changed it to Bahasa Malaysia because they want to make it as friendly to other race in Malaysia since it is the official language. Bahasa Malaysia is widely spoken by the citizenships there. Most of them can understand and listen to it. Most of the government document, school textbooks are written in Bahasa Malaysia. The cabinet meeting is also conducted in Bahasa Malaysia.

Apart from the Bahasa Malaysia, mandarin is one the languages spoken by the Chinese group. Now due to the emerging of China, it is getting more and more people start to learn mandarin and hope in the future can explore China. The Indians and Malays all started to learn mandarin and sometime they even speak better than Chinese group. Among the Chinese community, dialects are used in the daily communication too. Some of the dialects include Hokkien, Foochow, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, and Hainan. However, nowadays the younger generations do not know all these dialects because in their daily life, the communication language used is either mandarin, English or Malays. 

Tamil is the language used by the Indian people. Tamil in Malaysia is not so widely used in Malaysia. Usually it is used by Indians for their daily communication. 
Mode of Education
The normal pathway for Malaysia education system is primary school, secondary school, and lastly the local or international college and university. Preschool education before enter the primary school is not a must at the moment. However, the ministry of education wants to standardize the entire syllabus used in all the kindergarten in Malaysia. This is to ensure the credibility of the all kindergarten established. It normally takes 2 years to complete. It takes 6 years to complete the education in primary school, primary one to primary six. There are Malay, Chinese and Tamil primary school. Normally, the Malay will enter the Malay primary school and so for the Chinese and Tamil student. As 1 Malaysia is introduced, the government encourages whereby the Chinese enter the Malay primary school and so for. The syllabus used is uniform throughout the whole Malaysia. There is one government examination which undertaken by primary 6 student, UPSR.




For the secondary education, students can either choose to enter the government subsidized or private secondary school. For the government subsidized secondary school is called Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan. Translated to English is national secondary school. Same as the primary school, all the syllabus used is uniform. The communication language in the school is Malay. However, the other language such as Mandarin and Tamil is allowed to use by the other race of student. For a secondary student, they will take up to 12 subjects for the five years study. For the science stream student, they learn Mathematics, Additional Math, Biology, Chemistry and Physics in English form. This system is introduced by Dr Mahathir as a way to enhance and improve the student’s English level. The private secondary school is subsidized by the private and actually it is not recognized by the government. The reason given is the private secondary school education system does not match the national education system. The syllabus used is totally different from the secondary school subsidized by the government. There are 2 government examinations, namely PMR and SPM. PMR is for the form 3 student while SPM is for form 5 student. 



For the tertiary education, students can choose to further their study in STPM, diploma, foundation and matriculation. Upon finish the pre U programs, they are able to obtain their degree or PhD. 









Leisure Programmes
January-March

Chinese New Year- A festival celebrated by Chinese community. Kuala Lumpur's Petaling Street night market is a must visit place before the Chinese New Year. When the date is approaching, houses or shops will be decorated using mostly red color decoration. Lion dance is one of the favorite activity during the festival.



Thaipusam- Celebrated by the Hindu community. The most spectacular scene can be found in Selangor's Batu Caves. The preparation works for the Hindu include cleansing thenselves through prayer and fasting. A procession will be held and start at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple and walk for 15 kilometers to the Selangor's Batu Cave.




Le Tour de Langkawi- A cycling race which participated by world around participants. it was first introduced by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad in 1996. 



April-June


Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix-  It is held in Sepang International Circuit. it is an yearly event since 1960. The world's top drivers compete each other on the high tech circuit. 




Sabah Fest- It is a two days festival which almost 30 ethnic groups will get together to showcase their exotic culture. For those cultural tourists, Sabah Fest is a must visiy festival because different range of activities will be prepared for them to explore and learn. The example of the activities are handicraft making session, sample the Sabah traditional favorite delicacies as well as the cultural dance performed by the ethnic groups.





Gawai- During the festival, the ethnic group of people will dress in traditional costumes and perform. The celebration of Gawai marks the end of the rice harvest and hope the coming year will be better. At there, you can experience the colorful rituals, traditional music, cock fighting-one of their favorite activities and different kind of traditional games. 





July-September


Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival- A great carnival where you can shop everything at discounted price up to 70%. At the carnival, you can fill your shopping cart with the gifts, souvenirs, branded items or anything that you need.




World Rainforest Music Festival- It is held at the Sarawak Cultural Village, Damai. It is a unique festival where the famous world musicians from continents as well as indigenous musicians come together and perform. The informative workshop, ethno-musical lectures, jamming session and mini concert are the activities available during afternoon.





October-December


Deepavali- Deepavali, Devali or Diwali are used interchangeably by the Hinduism depends on the region they are living in. Jainism and Sikhism do celebrate the Deepavali too. Deepavali occurs between mid-October and mid-November every year and Deepavali means the festival of light. It celebrates triumph of light over darkness or simple speaking is good over evil. It is listed as public holiday for certain country such as Malaysia, Singapore, India and others. They will celebrate Deepavali in families by performing the traditional activities together.




Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon- It is one of the toughest mountain  race in the world. It is an ultimate challenge for those mountain climber. The participants have to run up and down for a total of 21 kilometers. Sri Pelancong Sabah Sdn Bhd is the organizer for this event.


What is Malaysia Known For?
Malaysia is a multi-cultural country which made up of mainly the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Except the culture experience, Malaysia is known for the food. There are different cuisines due to the different race exists in Malaysia. The famous malay foods include nasi lemak, ikan bakar, mee rebus, ikan asam pedas and etc. Some of the famous Chinese foods include Bak Kut Teh, Char Kway Teow, Chee cheong fun, Bakkwa and etc. Roti canai, nasi beriani, murtabak, fish head curry and chapata are the famous foods for the Indians. Hence, Malaysia is a truly food paradise for those who love to eat a lot. Malaysia is just like an integrated hub where you can find different kind of food at one place. 



  
Malaysia is rich for the natural resources too. There is a lot of nature reserves in Malaysia which contain the amazing biodiversity. Some of the nature reserves include Bako, Danum Valley, Endau-Rompin, Gunung Mulu, Kenong Rimba, Kinabalu, and Taman Negara. Those who love nature-based or ecotourism can go to Malaysia and explore all the nature reserves. For those who enjoy island life, Malaysia comprises many island around it. Some of the famous islands include the Pulau Sipadan, Pulau Redang, Pulau Tioman, Pulau Pangkor and Pulau Perhentian. All these islands are rich in marine biodiversity and that is the reason why they are famous.  Among all the islands, Pulau Tioman and Pulau Redang are the top island destination for Singaporean. Apart from the beautiful islands, there is a few famous beaches too. For example, the Cherating, Batu Ferringi and Pork Dickson.