Dec
28
1Malaysia, Land of Tolerance
A few weeks ago, while en route to idyllic White Beach on Mindoro Island in the Philippines, I met an Austrian around my age. He seemed cool and we had a pleasant enough chat, though my opinion of him quickly changed at his reaction to my mention of going to Malaysia next. “Malaysia – isn’t that a Muslim country?” he quipped. “I don’t wanna go somewhere where the women wear those things over their heads”… It would prove to be a comment I wouldn’t soon forget. It was especially striking coming from a European, being that they can be more open minded than my fellow Americans. That said, France’s recent ban on the wearing of the burqa in public would never EVER pass in the US, because it would be in clear violation of our Constitutional rights! That’s right you haters out there, like it or not, the good ol’ USA is STILL the land of the free… But I digress…
A few weeks later I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the global capital of Islamic finance to find a well run city with great infrastructure and most surprisingly, a culinary cornucopia of delights! Turns out some of the women here do choose to wear the tudung (head scarf), however I bet most of you would be surprised how stylishly these proud women pull it off, with flourishes of color the standard, rather than the exception. While Muslims are the dominant religious group here at 60% of the population, there are plenty of others practicing Buddhism (19%), Christianity (9%), Hinduism (6%) and Chinese religions (3%) per Wikipedia. While the Malaysian Constitution guarantees every person the right to practice their religion, in practice there are differences, as Muslims have distinct legal & political advantages, while the Chinese minority is disproportionately wealthy and dominant economically. Then there are the two parallel legal systems: English Common Law and Islamic Syariah, two very incompatible codes of law. Not surprisingly, the debate over whether Malaysia is a secular or an Islamic state rages on… Confusing, I know.
The point of this blog post though is how innovative this country really is, as opposed to all of the false stereotypes people have of “Muslim” countries… Not long ago, Dato’ Sri Najib Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia launched a great concept, something called 1Malaysia. In a country filled with racially charged politics, ever since having declared independence in 1957, this is something quite powerful on a sociological, political and marketing (country branding) level. Despite the veritable exotic porridge of ethnic Malays, Chinese and Tamils, not to mention Europeans and Middle Easterners here, the idea is to promote the concept of ONE country, with one purpose, one soul and one vision (though in Malaysia, even this is controversial).
Strength in diversity is a beautiful thought and Prime Minister Razak deserves much credit here. While on the topic of diversity, let me not forget to mention the incredible cuisine – ranging from Western to Chinese, South and North Indian to Malay, the cornucopia of flavors is enough to sate even the most demanding of palates. Some personal favorites include Black Hokkien Mee noodles which are super thick, drowned in soy sauce and full of delicious bits of seafood and meat; Little India fare, including some of the best vegetarian grub this side of Europe (love me some garlic naan!) and of course, native Malay dishes like the ubiquitous Nasi Lemak, traditionally eaten for breakfast and representing an explosion of flavors, including coconut rice, chicken, chili sauce, egg, cucumber, peanuts and dry anchovies!
Moral of this story is that Malaysia is an intriguing, multi-dimensional country filled with warm and diverse people, most of them looking forward to a future devoid of stereotypes, racial divisions or intolerance, as Utopian as that may sound. It has certainly left me personally inspired, including an idea for a business sure to succeed that I can’t divulge for obvious reasons. I want to take this opportunity to wish the country and its people the best on their intentions to become one of Southeast Asia’s preferred business and tourism destinations. The world could learn a lot from Malaysia! Terima kasih
Tags
Global trends, Marketing, Politics, Society, Travel
